Whisper
by Peach Wookiee
Summary: After Atem leaves, Yugi hides his depression and then attempts suicide. A prequel to a story currently being co-written with 15animefreak15. Please read and review. Chapter 16 up! Complete!
1. Nothing's Wrong

Chapter I: Nothing's Wrong

_Greetings, Yu-Gi-Oh original series fans! It's been a while since I started a new tale here. Don't worry, fans of "The Jedi League of Duelists;" I am still working on that tale and will see it through to the end. I've been working on other projects and my life has been more than a little crazy lately. Anyway, this tale that I am about to bring you comes from a couple of alternate timelines I've woven in stories such as "Bittersweet Victory," and in the upcoming sequel to my collaboration with 15animefreak15, "A Guy's Worst Nightmare." I have therefore decided to begin a prequel of sorts. This one will have some comic moments, but will largely be a bit dark. I hope you enjoy it. And thanks to 15animefreak15 who took a look at this story and said it was good enough to post!_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. I just own this idea. I also don't solely own the title name, "Whisper." That was inspired by the Evanescence song of the same name.**_

It was early June of 2006 and things were looking up for the city of Domino. Over two months had passed since the last bizarre happening which had involved freak weather and earthquakes. For nearly four years, strange things had happened in the city and indeed around the world, seemingly revolving around a certain group of teenagers and the card game that they played, especially a boy named Yugi David Muto. But now the city breathed a sigh of relief as nothing, fortunately had happened in two months.

For the group of teens, things seemed to be a new normal. They had suffered a loss in their number two months previously in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. Yugi and his friends had said good-bye to Atem, the previously nameless Pharaoh of Egypt who had trapped his spirit in a golden pyramid puzzle 5000 years previously to save the planet. He had returned to this world and become part of Yugi's life for four years and then he'd completed what he'd had to do and left. Yugi had acted like everything was all right and that it was all for the best that Atem had left. Sure, he'd grieved like the others, but he'd told them it had to be and eventually, everyone seemed okay.

A surprising and welcome change had also come. Seto Kaiba had decided to be a real friend. The blue-eyed, brown-haired teen CEO had, after Egypt, started to let his guard down with the group he'd nicknamed the "nerd herd." Teá Gardner, the eternal optimist, had been thrilled, her own blue eyes shining as she flipped her brown hair.

"We knew you'd come around eventually, Kaiba," she said, grinning. "Well, Yugi did, and I thought he was right." She was on the verge of saying something more, but Seto cut her off.

"I may have decided to declare an end to hostilities, but Gardner, no friendship speeches. None. I don't have a toleration built up for them yet, understood?" he growled in his customary manner.

"Got it," she said, sobering for a moment, and then smiling.

"Welcome to the gang, Kaiba!" Yugi said on that day, smiling also and holding out his hand. Seto shook it.

"Y'know, I think I need to make ski reservations," Joey Wheeler, a blonde-haired, brown-eyed boy said.

"Where?" his friend since childhood, Tristan Taylor, a boy with brown hair and hazel eyes asked.

"Hell. It's frozen over, man. Rich boy has actually decided to at least tolerate us."

Tristan regarded his best friend for a moment. "I think you're right…" And so it seemed as if everything was going to be all right. Graduation came and went and everyone was figuring out their futures. Joey was planning to get a decent job so he could work to save more for college and Tristan was planning to attend Domino University in the fall. Teá was being surprisingly tight-lipped about what she was going to do, and Yugi…Well, Yugi, too, was being tight-lipped, but his cadre figured he would go to Domino U as well, as he didn't want to leave his aging grandfather alone.

"Yuge, is everything okay?" Joey asked at Burgerpalooza one afternoon in June as he, Yugi, Teá, Tristan, Seto and his little brother, Mokuba sat enjoying some milkshakes as an afternoon treat.

Yugi gave them all his trademark smile. He'd been staring off into space and been quiet today. "Yeah, I'm okay, Joey…Just been thinking about stuff…I'm okay."

"You sure, Yugi?" Mokuba Kaiba asked, sipping his favorite strawberry shake. He still looked much as he had when the group had met him, with long messy raven hair and blue-gray eyes. However, his voice had begun to change and everyone knew that a growth spurt wasn't far behind. "I mean, you seem a little…off…"

A shadow had crossed Yugi's features, but it was like a small cloud going across the sun. "Yeah, I'm sure, Mokuba. Nothing's wrong…" Yugi answered, taking another pull of his favorite black cherry-chocolate shake. "Just…thinking about things…and how it's been nice not to have to save the world every time we turn around."

"Yeah…it's nice not to get kidnapped repeatedly," Mokuba said happily.

"It's nice not to have to worry about having psychos trying to get us," Joey added, messing the tween's hair in an affectionate gesture. The group talked about times past and good times yet to come and Yugi again had lapsed into silence.

_Enjoy this,_ he thought to himself. _They've been your friends for so long. Teá deserves her freedom and the guys don't need to worry about you anymore._ He'd been preparing for a bit, ever since they'd left Egypt. And this afternoon made what was to come a little easier. After a bit, they finished their shakes and left the restaurant. Seto and Mokuba went home and the rest of the group had walked home, Joey walking Yugi into the game shop the smaller boy had called home since he was three years old.

"Grandpa, I'm home!" Yugi called. Solomon Muto came up from under a counter.

"Hello, Yugi. Did you have fun?" the old man greeted, He had gray hair that looked like his grandson's tricolored spiky 'do, suggesting that the hair was hereditary. "And hello, Joey."

"Hey, Gramps," Joey greeted happily, taking a look at the different cards. Yugi quietly hung up his jacket. He said good-bye to Joey and went up to his room. Joey couldn't have known that his best friend intended this good-bye for all time.

Yugi went into his neat little bedroom with the dormer window and went to the locked drawer in his desk. He pulled out several white sealed envelopes and laid them carefully onto his twin bed. And then he removed a razor blade from the locked drawer and headed into the bathroom. _Forgive me, Lord and Ruler of the Universe, for what I am about to do…I just can't take it anymore…_

By this time, Joey had said good-bye to Solomon and left the game shop, but had the feeling he'd forgotten something. He walked back in quickly. "Joey? What are you doing back?" Solomon asked, smiling.

"I feel like I forgot something, Grandpa…Maybe…"

"Go upstairs and see if it's in Yugi's room," the old man said gently. Joey nodded and headed through the Mutos' living room and up the stairs to his best friend's room. "Yugi? I'm up here, man…" the eighteen-year-old boy called. Silence. And then, Joey opened the bedroom door. "Yuge? Where are you?" Joey noticed the envelopes on the bed, and was gripped by a horrible feeling. The bathroom door was cracked open and Joey heard a thud. "Yuge?!" he called, pushing the door open. Yugi had just fallen to the white-tiled floor, unconscious. His wrists were cut and bloody. "GRANDPA! CALL 911 NOW!!" Joey screamed. "Yuge, don't do this, don't give up!" He pulled off his light blue jacket and ripped the sleeves, wrapping them around the slashed wrists, and then pressing pressure points where Yugi's arms met his body. "Hang on, Yugi! Please!"

_I hope this was a halfway decent beginning for you all. Shall I continue? Please read and review, folks! I appreciate it._


	2. Why Didn't We See It?

Chapter II: Why Didn't We See It?

_Welcome back to Whisper, everyone. Not a cheery way to begin a story…with a suicide attempt. It's no coincidence that there is an Evanescence song of the same name, and that is why I selected this title. Yugi is emotionally and now physically in bad shape. Joey has discovered his best friend on the bathroom floor and said friend is an unconscious, bloody mess. What will happen now?_

_**Disclaimer: I only own this story. And I thank 15animefreak15 for helping me by fleshing some of this out.**_

Joey Wheeler held onto the pressure points of Yugi Muto's arms, his own knuckles bone-white from the effort. "Hang in there, Yuge…why'd you do it?" he muttered. "We'd help you…" He was too anguished for tears at the moment. It seemed like an eternity as he sat in the small bathroom trying to keep Yugi alive, waiting for the paramedics to come. Finally they were there.

"You can take your hands off him, young man…you may have saved his life," a kindly paramedic, a man with dark hair graying ever so slightly at the temples, said. Joey removed his hands and watched the medical personnel tightly bandage his friend's wrists, set him onto a stretcher and race him into an ambulance, his grandfather riding along with him. Joey was left alone at the shop to lock up. He saw the envelopes on Yugi's bed, picked them up, and headed downstairs to the living room.

'Oh, man…I have to call the gang before…' Joey thought, running his fingers through his mop of blonde hair. And then as he had been taught from the time he was small, he crossed himself and prayed. "Dear God, help me…You know what's been going on with my friend, Yugi and You know how to help him. Anyway, give me strength, God, please…I have to call my friends and tell them, but I feel so shaky. Just help me through this, Lord, and help me help them and Yuge…Please keep him with us…In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen." Joey was crying now, and yet he picked up the phone and dialed the first number he thought of.

A few blocks away, a cell phone rang. "Hello, this is Teá Gardner." Tea was in her room after having picked up her family mail. She had been waiting for an important communiqué and it had come. However, she hadn't yet opened it and now answered her phone.

"T-Teá, it's Joey…" His voice was shaky and Teá's instincts were telling her that something was very wrong.

She took a look at the caller ID on her phone and saw where he was calling from. 'The game shop…Grandpa? Oh, no…' She feared that Solomon Muto, given his age, had had some kind of episode. "Joey? What happened? Where are you?" she tried.

"At…at Yuge's. Teá, Yuge…just…" His end of the phone went silent for a moment, and the girl knew from experience that her friend was trying to compose himself. When he came back on again, he managed, "Yuge…just tried to kill himself…they took him to the hospital…Teá, why didn't we see it?" he moaned.

"Joey, do you know where they're taking him?" she asked, beginning to shake.

"Y-yeah…Domino Children's. Teá…" Joey was audibly crying now.

"D-don't worry, I'll call the others, okay? You head to the hospital and be with Grandpa…we'll be there as soon as we can," she assured him. They hung up, and Teá ran for her car, dialing as she moved. She made the next call to Bakura who lived within walking distance of Domino Children's and then to…

"Hello, Kaiba residence," Mokuba answered from the home's private line.

"Mokuba? It's Teá…something's wrong with Yugi…" Her voice was panicked.

"Teá, what happened? Is he hurt?" The boy's eyes were wide in horror.

"Yeah…Mokuba…Yugi…tried…to kill himself…Tell your brother you two need to come to Domino Children's…Hurry…"

"Okay, Teá! We'll be there!" Mokuba hung up the phone and ran down the hall to his brother's home office. "SETO! SETO!!"

By the time Mokuba was at his brother's office, Seto Kaiba was already standing up from his desk. "Mokuba? Mokie, what's the matter?" Seto asked, taking in his brother's fright and tears. "Who called?" Mokuba told him, and within minutes they were heading to a waiting limo.

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

When the group of kids arrived at Domino Children's hospital, they found Solomon Muto in the waiting room. "You're all here?" he asked.

"Yeah, Grandpa," Joey said, putting his arms around the old man. "Have they said anything?" he asked, his eyes burning.

"They…took him into emergency surgery…Why didn't he talk to us?" Solomon asked in anguish.

Seto Kaiba, the once seemingly unmoved, was moved now. "He…felt hopeless and he didn't want any of us to see just how he was feeling…and he wanted the pain to go away…" All eyes were on him. "I've been in that place…and…Mokuba kept me from it…and when he wasn't there…" Seto didn't complete the thought.

"Duelist Kingdom, correct?" Bakura Ryou probed, and most of them remembered back nearly three years previously when Seto had stood on the parapet of Pegasus's castle threatening, in effect to kill himself if he lost his duel with Yugi.

"Yeah…Mokuba wasn't there…" Mokuba looked up at his brother. Seto had managed to finally tell him about what had happened at Duelist Kingdom after the incident with the Big Five in the Sim-Lau video game. "I couldn't live without him…And…Yugi has lost a brother…that's what the Pharaoh meant to him…"

"He was planning this out…" Joey said. "I think he'd been planning it for a while. I…" He pulled the envelopes from his light blue now-sleeveless jacket. "I found these on his bed in his room…They have our names on them…there are more, but…" Joey's hands were shaking as he gave them. Everyone opened their letters at that moment, and time seemed to stop. There were personal elements to each letter, but the heart of each letter was simple, and if they had not been personalized, would've read something like this…

_My friends,_

_If you're reading this, I'm probably dead. I just couldn't take the pain anymore. You're all wondering why I didn't say anything or acted like I was okay. I figured it was better that way. You could remember me as the normal, happy Yugi rather than some blubbering idiot who couldn't keep it together and was down all the time. You can remember that I was happiest with you guys, but…I miss Atem so much…it's like part of me is gone and I know there's no way to get it back. I just want the pain to stop and there's only one way to do that now…_

_Just take care of each other, and take care of Grandpa for me. I don't like leaving him alone, but…it's better than him watching me just fall away. I'm sorry, but I just can't do this anymore. God be with you until we meet again._

_Yugi_

"Why didn't we see it?" Teá moaned, crying now into Tristan's arms. "He was hurting and we didn't…"

"Teá, don't…he didn't want us to see it. He…just didn't…" the hazel-eyed boy moaned.

Solomon got up from his seat and also hugged Teá. "Teá, honey…this was no one's fault…Yugi just…held it in…" He said it for himself as well as the young people around him. He had noticed Yugi had been a little bit sad lately, but never could he have imagined that Yugi was thinking of suicide. "All we can do now is wait…and pray that he'll be all right…"

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

Meanwhile, the news that Yugi Moto had made an attempt on his life was becoming huge news. A young woman was driving in a blue Mercedes convertible and listening to the radio when…

"We're getting breaking news…Yugi Muto, the King of Games, has been hospitalized. Preliminary indications are that he attempted suicide and is now in emergency surgery at Domino Children's Hospital. At this moment, his condition is unknown. The media is being held 200 feet from the hospital and we hope to be updated soon…"

Mai Valentine couldn't have told all of the places she'd driven in the last few months. She'd been trying to put herself back together after Battle City and then what had happened with Dartz and the DOOM boys. Her inability to deal with what Marik had reawakened at Battle City had led to her nearly killing the young man she loved and she'd been trying to deal with her own guilt and pain since. Now, she was back in Domino and heard that one of her friends had just attempted to take his own life.

'What do I do now?' she thought as she changed direction. 'What if they hate me? Maybe…maybe…No…' She knew that at this moment, her heart, mind and body needed to be in Domino, no matter what came when she got to the hospital. She drove into the parking lot, her make-up a wreck and her heart pounding. 'Help me, Lord,' she thought-prayed to a God she'd been on the outs with as of late. 'I know I've done horrible things, but at least…give me the chance to at least apologize for what I did…Amen…' She went through the doors of the hospital, shaking and then…she saw an all too familiar young man with shaggy blonde hair. At first, her vocal cords wouldn't work. Finally, she managed to call out to him.

"Joey?"

Joey had just exited the waiting room, trying to collect his thoughts. And then…he turned at the sound of her voice. 'It can't be…' He remembered the last time he'd seen her as she'd held him in her arms in an abandoned lot, begging him not to leave her. 'It can't be…' he now thought as he turned. And now, he knew it was real. "Mai?" he called out to her. Without another word, they ran into each other's arms. She started crying, and he cried too. It seemed like an eternity as their combined tears fell, but as the tears fell, they healed the two young people in love. Finally, Joey spoke again, holding her tightly. "I…thought you…chose him…"

She met his eyes. "Joey…I know…I was such an idiot…I'll understand if…everybody…"

"No…Shh…I was the idiot…Teá asked how I could be so mean to you… I just wasn't sure how to tell you how I felt. You are the most incredible woman I've ever met. I thought I'd lost you for good…Can we try again?" He met her eyes and she nodded.

"How's…how's Yugi?" she asked as they walked back to the waiting room. "I heard over the radio in my car. What happened?"

"You ought to know…the Pharaoh left two months ago. Yugi acted like everything was okay. We graduated last week and today we all went out to have some fun. Seto…he's decided to hang out with us…and Mokuba went with us for milkshakes. Yuge acted like everything was okay and then I took him home. I…I thought I forgot something and I w-went up to his room and then I found him in the bathroom. He'd cut his wrists, Mai…" It was then she noticed the blood on his white shirt. _Yugi's_ blood…

"Oh, Joey…" she whispered softly, hugging him again. They were at the waiting room door and she tensed. Joey sensed it.

"It's okay, Mai…I'm here…" Little did he know that Teá had poked her head out the door after she'd heard Joey call Mai's name.

"She's back," the brunette girl had whispered in disbelief. "And…she's sorry…"

"Yeah, right," Tristan growled softly, remembering what had happened just a few months ago.

"Tristan, calm down, please," Teá begged. "I know she did terrible things and heaven knows I'm not defending her, but maybe she wants to make things right. Remember what Atem told us?" Tristan thought back to just after it was all over with the Orichalcos.

"He said Mai went to get Joey back and lost her soul in the process…"

"Exactly, so please, please don't get angry now…We can't lose Joey, too…" Teá cautioned. "We can't make him choose…" What the girl meant what that treating Mai badly might drive Joey away from them and she didn't want that to happen. Tristan clenched and unclenched his fists and nodded.

"You're right…and…I'd actually like to know what brought her to what she did."

"Thank you…" Teá whispered as Joey and Mai entered the room.

Mai swallowed, staying close to her love. "Hi, everyone," she said softly. "I don't expect you to welcome me back with open arms. I did terrible things and…I am sorry. No matter what happened to me that led to it, I have no excuse for trying to take you all down. I turned on all of you, and I am sorry. Maybe you'll be able to forgive me someday, but if it's any comfort, I'm still trying to forgive myself."

The other kids regarded her for a moment. Solomon Muto too looked at her quietly. No one spoke for a long moment. Tristan clenched and unclenched his fists, running through his emotions, trying to keep calm. "Look, Mai…I'm going to be the first one to admit I've been really mad at you. Because of you, I almost lost my best friend. He blamed himself for what happened, that you dueled Marik and that you turned against us. And then he went after you…but he told us what happened in your last duel…" Mai's eyes widened in shock at this. "He told us everything," Tristan continued. "He told us that you couldn't attack, and that said to me you were still in there and that there was still good in you. So at least for now, let's at least declare a truce, okay?" He held out his hand for her to shake and she did. "I've decided that…life's too short. You?" Mai couldn't speak for a minute.

"Mai," Teá added, "I'd like to know what happened, if you can tell us…but…we'll all work through it, all right? I want us to be friends…and that means…I may be mad at you, but I don't want to be mad at you forever." Teá might have a temper that rivaled volcanic fury, but she was, for good or ill, a loyal friend. And that meant now that she would try to heal the rift between herself and Mai.

"I…I'll tell you…it's hard, though…" the statuesque blonde woman said. And so she told them about how her mother hadn't really wanted to have her, but did so the family image was good in the public eye. She told how her father was womanizing scum who harassed her nannies and fired them if they didn't submit to his attention. "But the worst part was the day when he went after me…my mom wasn't there. He…felt me up, but a servant walked in and that stopped him from going any farther…I didn't trust him after that and I wasn't sure I'd ever trust any man…"

"You were abused?" Bakura asked, looking straight at her in horror. "By your own father?"

"I called him father but…I don't think he was…He never liked my mother that way…" Mai said bitterly. "But…that's secondary right now. What's Yugi's condition?"

Solomon swallowed. "The doctor said she wasn't sure how this would turn out. Yugi's lost a lot of blood…" His voice broke. "I can't lose him…" Joey moved back to his surrogate grandfather and teacher and hugged him tightly. It was at this moment the door to the waiting room opened and a young woman stepped in.

"Mr. Muto?" She was wearing raspberry pink scrubs with matching booties over her sneakers, and had white-blonde hair and bright blue eyes. "My name is Kisara Hammond and I've been helping work on your grandson. Is it all right if these people are here as I brief you?"

At the name Kisara, Seto Kaiba's head flew up. 'It can't be,' he thought, but as he gazed at the woman, he knew it was the same girl he'd seen in the ancient past. The only differences at the moment between this girl and the other were that this girl's hair was in a bun and she was very much alive. 'It's her…' he thought, his heart pounding. But for this moment, he had to keep his feelings in check.

"It's all right…these kids are his friends…Please, Dr. Hammond, tell me…" Solomon begged.

The young woman sat down next to the old man kindly. "Mr. Muto, we have managed to stop the bleeding. Your grandson did a lot of damage to his wrist veins and it took a lot to get him patched up. He has lost a lot of blood and we've replaced some of what he's lost, but not all of it. He needs more blood…otherwise I can't guarantee his survival…" Solomon's face drained.

"He's AB negative…"

"Yeah, and we don't enough of it. Does anyone here have AB negative, O negative, A negative or B negative blood?" she asked. "And are you eighteen or over?"

Teá, Tristan, Mai and Bakura all looked at each other in disappointment. Joey and Seto, however, raise their hands. "I have Type O negative," Joey said. "I'll help Yuge…"

Seto said, "I have AB negative…I'll help, too…" He had no change in his mostly impassive demeanor as he said it, but everyone looked at him in shock, except for Mokuba who smiled.

"Okay, gentlemen…You have a date with a needle," the young doctor said.

_Mai is back, and the boys are donating blood. Will Yugi ultimately live? You'll just have to stay tuned. Read and review._


	3. Healing Wounds

Chapter III: Healing Wounds

_Welcome back, everyone, to "Whisper." I'm sorry it took a bit to update this one. Anyway, if you're expecting total angst, I can't seem to do it. Humor tends to creep in when I'm least expecting it. And this tale is no exception. Even in the face of Yugi's possible death, there lies a humorous situation. Seto Kaiba and Joey Wheeler are donating blood. That sequence was inspired by the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode, "Explorers," and 15animefreak15 helped me work on it. It may not be medically accurate, but hopefully, it's still funny…Thanks to my reviewers! You all make my dabbling worth it!_

_**Disclaimer: Peach Wookiee owns nothing but this story and her interpretations.**_

"Okay, gentlemen…You two have a date with a needle," Kisara Angela Hammond said with firm kindness to Seto James Kaiba and Joseph Aaron Wheeler. The two young men had just offered to donate their blood to save Yugi Muto's life because he had lost more blood than Domino Children's Hospital had on hand.

"How long will this take?" Joey asked, his heart pumping. "How long does Yuge have? I mean…"

"It's okay, Joey…this takes an hour at most and it's time Yugi has. He's stable and for now his body will be okay. But we still need to do this as quickly as possible so Yugi gets the blood he needs. I have to check you boys for blood-borne diseases and anything else we might need to worry about…I'll take a little blood and you can fill out these forms," she said, handing them each clipboards. "I need to know if you have any problems, your travel in the last few years, and anything else that the form asks." She sat them down and had a nurse come in. "Now, we'll each draw some blood for you and check it, okay?" They each nodded. The nurse drew from Joey, while Kisara drew Seto's blood.

Seto, meanwhile, looked at the young doctor. _She's actually here, and…Seto, get hold of yourself! She can't be the exact same girl…and she has to be a bit older than you._ He swallowed. "Dr. Hammond…how long have you been living here in Domino?"

Without taking her eyes off her immediate task, prepping his arm and the needle, she answered, "I've been living here about a year. I just came off my internship and my parents moved down here with me from Seattle." She tied a tourniquet around his upper arm and wiped the crook of his elbow with an alcohol swab. "Make a fist. This'll sting a little…" She found his vein and put the needle in, quickly taking a sample. She bandaged him up and took the tube of blood over to a lab table.

"Doctor, I have Mr. Wheeler's sample," the nurse said, coming from where Joey was sitting.

"Thank you, Janie…" Kisara said, quickly running the tests. "Okay, boys, let's get you donating. When was the last time you ate?"

Joey looked at Seto and answered, "About two hours ago…we had a snack…"

"All right," Kisara said, after giving the forms they'd filled out, "you'll both be a bit woozy after we're done." She got them each to lay down on cots with blood-donating equipment and placed needles in their veins. They were hooked up to machines that drained the blood and kept it from congealing in the bags. "This'll take about 10 minutes and then we'll rush the blood to where Yugi is, okay?"

"Hurry, Doc…please?" Joey begged. She turned on the machines and they began to take two pints of blood from each young man.

"I'll be right back, okay? I'm going to get you two some juice and cookies…"

Kisara was gone for a few minutes and a nurse poked his head in to check on the boys and see how the blood draw was going. When the nurse left about 7 minutes into the draw, Seto and Joey were both feeling loopy and lightheaded. Seto wondered if this was it felt like to be drunk. Whatever the cause, he was feeling a bit uninhibited.

"Hey, Joey?" he slurred. Joey, also feeling a bit loopy, looked over at his temporary roommate, his eyes partly open.

"Yeah, Seto? Whaddya want?" he asked, speech also slurred.

"You know…you're not an in-between kind of guy…People either love you or they hate you…" Seto was smiling as he said this.

"Yeah? So what's your point?"

"When we met…I hated you…" Seto was close enough he could put his hand on Joey's shoulder. "And now…"

"And now?" Joey asked, a little concerned for Seto's sanity.

"I don't hate you…"

Joey was visibly stunned. "Seto…are you sayin' you l-l-l…"

"I don't hate you anymore…You're kind of like a goofy brother I see all the time," Seto answered. He might be out of it, but he wasn't so out of it as to say he loved another man.

"Well…I don't hate you too, Seto," Joey grinned goofily. "And you ain't so bad yourself…" he said, shakily raising his arm and putting it on Seto's shoulder.

"Good…" Seto answered, and they both sat with goofy expressions on their faces.

Meanwhile, outside the room, Kisara was standing rooted to the ground, not believing what she had heard. Neither could the other members of the group. "Um…what just happened?" the young doctor asked. "I thought they were huge rivals…"

"It's cooled down," Tristan said, also stunned, "but I didn't think it had…this much…"

Mai's violet eyes were wide. "I think Hell just froze over…that, or I have really missed something…"

"Mai…Hell froze over before graduation," Mokuba commented. "What just happened means it now has a healthy layer of permafrost."

Teá, for her part, was giggling madly. "Teá, what's up with you?" Tristan asked curiously.

"Oh, I just got that all on tape," she answered, holding up a small mp3 recording device. "I got all of it! I can't wait until they hear this!"

Kisara, recovering her powers of movement, walked into the room with a tray of cookies and juice. She turned off the machines which had taken the necessary blood from the two boys. She handed them to a waiting nurse. "Take those to Yugi Muto. He's Dr. Rhodes' patient currently in recovery. As for you two boys, I hope you remember what you said to each other…"

"Yes, Doctor Hammond," they said in unison, cracking up.

Once they'd each downed some juice and a few cookies, Seto sat up. "I…need to head to the bathroom…" He still sounded slurred.

"Mr. Kaiba…" Kisara said, moving closely.

"I can stand and walk," he said clearly. He made it about 10 steps before his knees buckled and he passed out.

"Oh, dear! Nurse!" Kisara called. A nurse raced into the room and he and Kisara got the weakened teen multi-billionaire back onto the cot. She propped his legs up with pillows so the blood would rush back to his head. "Take a deep breath, Mr. Kaiba…" She worked over him for a minute or two and he came around.

"Did I..? I passed out, didn't I?" he groaned.

"It's not uncommon that you pass out after a blood donation, Mr. Kaiba. So don't beat yourself up," Kisara said easily.

"Dr. Hammond…"

"Please, call me Kisara," she said calmly.

"Kisara…you should call me Seto, then…" Everyone, including Mokuba, looked at Seto in shock. "Kisara, I'm not going to beat myself up…you have my word…"

"Okay, then…Seto…" she said.

"Kisara?" Joey asked. "How long until we know about Yugi?"

"It shouldn't be long…The surgeon who worked on him will be coming soon. She wants to update Yugi's grandfather." The group, once the donors were strong enough to walk, headed back to the waiting room. Within 45 minutes, a plump female doctor with brown hair and brown eyes came to the waiting area.

"Mr. Muto?" she said. He stood up. "My name is Jean Louise Rhodes, but you can call me Scout. I worked on your grandson…"

"Scout, was it? How's my boy?" he asked, worried.

"He's going to make it, but…he's not going to be awake for a bit yet. We're keeping him heavily sedated so he probably won't wake up for a day or so. We want him well on the road to recovery before we let him really wake up. He cut his wrists pretty badly and it was very fortunate that someone found him in time. I'd recommend that you and his friends go in and talk to him. Let him know how much he's loved and that may help. We've moved him to a private room, and if you and anyone else would like to see him, we can do that. Kisara, would you..?"

"Of course, Scout. I can stay and help. Which room is he in, now?"Scout told her. "Thank you, Scout. All right, everyone, follow me please. I should warn you that Yugi is hooked up to IVs and has oxygen tubes in his nose, so his appearance might be a little scary. Just so everyone's prepared, all right?" Everyone nodded and Mokuba pulled close to his brother. The older boy put his arm around his brother in a protective, almost fatherly gesture. The group climbed into an elevator and headed to the third floor and a small hospital room.

Kisara had done a good job of preparing everyone in the little group for what Yugi looked like, but even so, it took everything for almost everyone not to cry or collapse on the spot. Yugi was unconscious in the bed, wearing a hospital-issue gown. His eyes were closed and his face didn't look at peace; instead, it looked as if he was having nightmares. There was a two-pronged oxygen tube in his nose, IVs in his right arm, and his wrists were heavily bandaged.

Solomon moved to the side of his grandson's bed. His old hand reached out and brushed the golden bangs on the teen boy's forehead. "Yugi…my sweet boy…" A single tear raced down his cheek. And so began the wait for the King of Games to wake up.

_And that concludes chapter three of Whisper. I hope a little levity didn't jar the story too much. Joey and Seto have wounds to heal between them, and perhaps something like this would aid them. Read and review, everyone!_


	4. Just Talking Part I

Chapter IV: Just Talking…Part I

_Welcome back to "Whisper," everyone. I'm sorry for the slight delay. I had to research a particular question by a reader. Why would Yugi need emergency surgery? Well, I checked on the Internet to find the answer. Yugi cut deeply enough that he did damage to arteries in his wrists as well as muscles that control hand movements. Dr. Rhodes and other surgeons had to act quickly to repair the damage, lest Yugi bleed to death or lose the use of his hands forever. Thank you for that question, SRRH! Anyway…our little band of teens and an elderly adult are all at Domino Children's Hospital, sitting around Yugi's room, hoping he'll wake up._

_This is part one because each of these young people will talk, telling stories or telling Yugi things. I have chosen to start with Kisara._

_**Disclaimer: Peach Wookiee doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh. She only owns this idea.**_

Joey Wheeler gently guided Solomon Muto to a chair next to Yugi's bed. "Gramps, please just sit down."

"Why did he do it?" Solomon whispered again. "Kisara?"

"Yes, Mr. Muto?" she asked.

"First, please call me Solomon. Secondly, what do we do now? How do we help him?"

"Well, this may seem unusual since he's not awake, but we need to talk. When Yugi wakes up, he needs to know that he is loved and wanted in this world. So let's just talk and do our best to create a loving environment." Everyone looked at the young doctor.

"So…what do we talk about?" Joey asked curiously.

"Anything we want…just avoid things that will make Yugi feel sad, angry at himself or frightened. Is that all right?" Everyone nodded.

"So…" Tristan began. "Who…wants to start?"

Everyone looked at Teá expectantly. "Uh…I don't know what to talk about…" she admitted sadly. "I just…don't know…"

There was silence in the room and no one was certain what to do until Seto broke the silence. "Kisara…would personal questions be all right?" he asked. It was an almost imperceptible change in his manner, but it was enough to make everyone who knew him well look at him in surprise. Mokuba was so shocked, his eyebrows were well hidden by his bangs.

"Personal questions?" Kisara asked. "Directed at…me?" she queried.

Seto nodded, his usual mask in place. "We don't know you yet, Kisara, and perhaps we should. Unless you object…"

The teen doctor regarded the teen CEO for a moment. She had an ability to sense the emotions of people around her, and rarely, their thoughts. And now she sensed Seto Kaiba's emotions underneath the mask he tried to keep. "What do you want to know?" She directed the question at everyone in the room, but she looked at the CEO as she asked it.

"I…we…would like to know anything you feel comfortable revealing. If you wouldn't mind, Kisara…" Seto explained.

"Okay…long or short version?" she asked.

The teens, old man and little boy looked at each other. "The long version sounds fine to me, hon," Mai said. Everyone nodded.

"Okay…well, I was born in Missouri as Kisara Jenkins. My biological parents were 17 when I was born and they got married because of me. That was a mistake." Her face darkened slightly. "They fought all the time and got pretty ugly. My earliest memory was of them fighting and then getting mad at me. Their last fight before I was taken from them was just before I turned two. They were fighting and I was crying and my biological dad got angry and hit me really hard. I used to have brown hair, but when I woke up after I was hit, my hair was like this," she said, gesturing to her white-bluish blonde tresses. "I was put into a faith-based orphanage after that, and I was there for six months. It was nice not to hear fighting, but I was afraid every time someone raised their voice, no matter the reason."

"Your dad hit you? And you were only a baby?" Mokuba asked, shocked. And then… "You were in an orphanage, too? Seto and I were…" and he trailed off, looking a little worried at his brother's reaction.

"Mokie, it's okay…" Seto said. "Go on, Kisara. So you were adopted not too long after going in?" She nodded. "So…tell us about your adoptive parents…"

"Well, as I said, I was in the orphanage for six months. It was four months into it that a couple with a seven-year-old boy came to the orphanage. The couple had adopted the little boy from the organization's baby adoption group and they'd wanted to adopt a baby when I was born but, as my daddy says, it wasn't God's time for them to get another child. And then, the woman who is now my mom lost her mother three months before they came to the orphanage. So, they came and they saw me. And they found out about me and talked to me. I wasn't afraid of them, but I wasn't too trusting. So, they took a chance and set the work in motion to adopt me and when I was two and a half, I was out of there and going to Seattle.

"So it took a lot of work, but my parents won my love. And one day, my dad showed me that a raised voice didn't mean that you were going to be hit or that a man would hurt you. It was the day I showed Daddy I could read and understand his philosophy books. I was almost four years old, and he was working at our living room table, grading papers and checking references. He's a university professor and has been since before my brother came. I went in to see what he was doing and he picked me up and sat me on his lap. I asked what he was doing and he showed me the book. I held it and I read it. He sat in shock for a moment and then asked me what I thought the philosopher meant. When I told him what I thought it meant, he said, 'Kisara, you're right…' and he picked me up and cheered.

"It was that day that I realized my new daddy wouldn't hurt me. And then, they had me tested and found out I was exceedingly gifted. Because of that, I was in college when I was 6. I was in medical school by the time I was 10 and I was fourteen when I was able to intern. But when I was almost fifteen, I had a near breakdown and had to take a few months to get put back together. I went back to Seattle Children's Hospital where I'd been interned and started a practice and about a year ago, a job opened up in Domino and my parents moved here with me. Daddy got a job at a university not too far from here as a dean and I started working here at Domino Children's. And that is my life story," Kisara concluded.

Seto looked at her for a moment. "Do you know about Duel Monsters and their ancient pasts?" Kisara sensed him tensing.

"Yes, I do. I was through the recent exhibit at the Domino Museum and…this might sound silly…" she said, blushing slightly.

"Kisara…we've been through strange things," Teá said. "I have a feeling it won't be any weirder than what we've seen and dealt with. Go ahead. We're not going to judge."

The teen doctor took a deep breath. "Well, ever since I was a little girl, I've had dreams about a certain monster and ancient Egypt. The monster was the Blue Eyes White Dragon. I dreamed I was friends with her." Kisara trailed off. "It's silly, isn't it?"

Seto moved over to where Kisara was sitting, at Yugi's bedside and said, "No, it's not. I…we…all saw you…it was about two months ago. Do you remember anything about that time?"

She looked at him as if she were searching for something. "I remember a young man who looked like you…He was wearing a funny hat, though, and…I think we were more than friends. And…in my dreams, I died protecting that young man. Does that sound familiar to you?" she asked, suddenly nervous.

The other members of the group looked at Seto, wondering if he'd revert to form as the skeptic who argued that it was all an "Egyptian fairytale." However…"It does. Should I tell her?" he asked the other teens who knew.

Bakura spoke up. "Yes. Kisara, it wasn't exactly my fault what happened that resulted in your past self's death, but I feel like I am. Seto, please tell her…she has a right to know," the British boy concluded softly. Seto nodded and told her the story of the ancient past as he had seen it, the other teens adding in their experiences. When they finished, Kisara nodded, understanding.

"I'm glad to know I'm not nuts. So, what about the rest of you? Tell me about you," she invited. And so they did over the next two hours. Bakura told Kisara about his mother and sister, his archaeologist father and what it was like to be possessed by something like the Devil, while Tristan told of his family and his love of motorcycles. Each of them told something about themselves that was interesting or funny as well as a little sad in some cases. Kisara smiled, listening.

"So you've known Yugi since you were little, Teá?" she asked.

"Yeah…we were three…he and I have always played together…" Tea said and then choked up. It hurt, the thought that he could've been…well, it hurt and she didn't even want to complete the thought. Kisara grabbed some Kleenex and handed them to the other blue-eyed girl.

"Teá…it's all right…let it out…" the doctor soothed. "It's hard," she added, putting her arm around the girl as well.

"So…what now?" Solomon asked. "Do we continue to talk?"

"Yes…we can just talk about anything and we can talk directly to Yugi…Just talk about anything that makes him feel loved and very much wanted." Everyone nodded and began to speak of nothing in particular, hoping Yugi would feel all right when he awoke.

_And that's where I choose to end this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and keep an eye out for more! The Ishtars and others will be making appearances in the next few chapters. Yugi has no idea of the impact his life has had on other people and now that the news is out, others will come. Please read and review. Thank you._


	5. The Impact of a Single Life

Chapter V: Impact of a Single Life

_Greetings again, everyone. When last we left "Whisper," we found out something about Kisara Hammond, one of Yugi's doctors. And we saw that everyone didn't exactly know what to say. They will each say more as they can. But now…we deal with another aspect of what Yugi attempted. When a person attempts suicide and survives, it is only later it seems that he or she realizes the impact that his or her single life has on the people around him or her. We've seen the impact on Yugi's immediate circle of friends, but what of the others around him? How many people did he duel and make them better people? What would they think?_

_Thanks to last chapter's lone reviewer, petalpixie and I hope to get more reviews for this next. _

_**Disclaimer: Peach Wookiee doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh.**_

_**Author's note: The suit Pegasus is wearing was the one he wore in the first couple of episodes of the US dub series. Further, I tend to go with the dub because I know it best.**_

At the same time Mai Valentine heard the news of Yugi's status over her car radio, Maximilian Pegasus had just sat down to a cable channel news network broadcast. "This is a Breaking News Alert… We're getting word from Domino City that Yugi Muto has been hospitalized and is in emergency surgery…Preliminary reports indicate that this was a suicide attempt…"

Max Pegasus's amber eye went wide. _Why? _he asked himself in pain. _What could've happened to make him do it? _"Croquet!" Max yelled, summoning his servant and bodyguard.

"Yes, sir?" Croquet, a man with a huge mustache and dark hair asked, coming into the room.

"Call and get my helicopter ready. I need to get to Domino as soon as possible. Yugi Muto is in the hospital!" Within the hour, Maximilian Pegasus was in the air, dressed in his red turtleneck top and his Armani jacket. _Hang in there, Yugi-boy…_ he thought.

Meanwhile, half a world away, it was morning in Cairo, Egypt. Ishizu Ishtar was an early riser and was awake at 5 AM. It was now almost 6 AM and the young woman had gone into the living room of the house that she shared with her two brothers, Odion and Marik. She turned on the TV to an English language international cable news program and saw the Breaking News logo and where the news was breaking. She quickly turned up the sound…

"…It appears that Yugi Muto is indeed in emergency surgery for unknown injuries due to an attempted suicide," an East Indian woman with a clipped British accent was saying. "He was admitted to Domino Children's Hospital a short time ago and the local news agencies have yet to be updated on his condition…"

"Oh, merciful gods, why did this happen?" Ishizu breathed. Marik chose this moment to wake up and come out of his room in his t-shirt and boxer shorts. His white-blonde hair was a bit unruly and his lavender eyes still held sleep.

"Ishizu…sister, what's going on?" She wordlessly pointed at the screen. "Oh, no…" he moaned softly. Right behind him was their older brother, Odion.

"Ishizu? When did this happen?" Odion asked in his deep voice. He was bald except for a black ponytail at the back of his head and had Egyptian hieroglyphic tattoos on his well-chiseled face. He also had smoky dark eyes that were now full of worry. The Ishtar family had, for thousands of years, served Yugi's soul brother, and Odion, Ishizu and Marik had completed the family duty…or so they thought until now.

"I don't know…but what I do know is that we must get to Domino immediately. I don't know what we can do for him, but we need to be there for Yugi. He helped the Pharaoh regain his place in the afterlife and he helped us regain our family. Therefore…we must help him…" she said calmly.

"But what can we do, Ishizu?" Marik asked, his lavender eyes pained. "I mean…we can't heal him…"

"No we can't, little brother," Odion explained, "but…we can be there to help everyone around him. And we can help by just being there."

"I don't understand, big brother…Ishizu, do you understand?" Marik asked curiously. She nodded, but let her older brother explain it.

"Marik…do you remember how I was after Battle City when our duties as Tomb Keepers came to an end?" the tall man asked.

"Yeah…why?"

"You and Ishizu were there for me, to remind me that it wasn't the end of the world and that no matter what, you were my brother and my sister…not just a servant…"

Marik felt his vision become blurry and hugged his brother. "You were always our brother…Father was wrong to treat you the way he did…We should've always been brothers and that's how it's always going to be. So we helped you?"

"More than you will ever know…" Odion said, keeping his brother in the hug. "You are my family and that can never change…"

Ishizu hugged her brothers tightly, happy that their family was together as it should have been. "Now we need to book the next flight to Domino…" The boys agreed, and within four hours, the Ishtar family was en route to the United States.

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

Meanwhile, in the city of North Haverbrook, two hours away from Domino by train, Serenity Wheeler was sitting in the living room with her mother, watching the evening news when…

"This is breaking news…We're receiving word that Yugi Muto, the Duel Monsters world champion has been admitted to Children's Hospital in Domino. His condition is unknown at this point, but apparently, he attempted suicide earlier today…"

"Oh my goodness!" Elizabeth Wheeler said. "That's Joey's friend, isn't it, Serenity?" Elizabeth had curly red hair and light brown eyes, now wide in concern.

Serenity had long dark red hair and dreamy brown eyes which now grew worried and sad at the same time. "Yeah…he was the one who gave the three million dollars to Joey so I could see again. I'll bet Joey's scared to death. Mom, can I go down there? Please?" she begged.

Elizabeth thought quickly. "Serenity, if you're going, I'm going too. You're sixteen years old and you can't just go alone, all right?"

"Okay, thanks, Mom!" Serenity said, giving her mother a tight hug. Elizabeth called the office where she worked, letting them know that she was leaving for a family emergency while Serenity went to her room and started packing. She looked at the picture of herself and her brother, taken during the Battle City finals. 'Joey, I'm coming…but you need to know,' she thought. She picked up the phone in her bedroom and dialed his number. The phone rang, but the answering machine picked up. "Joey, it's Serenity…I'm guessing you're at the hospital right now, but I just wanted you to know that Mom and I are coming. We'll come to the hospital so we can help you…we'll probably find a hotel or something when we get there. I love you, Joey. See you soon…" She hung up the phone and packed what she needed quickly.

A few minutes later, Elizabeth came in the room. "Ready, honey?"

"Yeah, Mom…I called down there, and Joey must be at the hospital. He didn't pick up, so I left a message on the answering machine. I guess we'll surprise him when we get to the hospital…" And so the women left for the train station, hoping they'd be able to do something to help son and brother and also his friends. Serenity, in her haste to contact her brother didn't think about who else would hear the phone message.

In another part of Domino, Duke Devlin was sitting in his apartment's living room when the news broke. Without a second thought, he got ready and raced to Domino Children's Hospital. He burst through the doors and got to the room where the group was. "Guys?" he asked as he came in the room.

"Duke! Dude, what are you doing here?" Tristan asked in surprise.

"I saw the news…oh, man, Yugi…what'd you do?" Duke asked, sitting down next to Tristan in a vacant chair. "He's not awake…"

"No," Kisara answered. She introduced herself and explained Yugi's status. "Think you can talk to him, too, Duke?"

"Yeah…I owe him big…You hear that, Yugi? I owe you…don't you dare think about dying…" Duke said. "I'll talk…Do you even realize, Yugi, how many people you've helped? You helped me realize a lot of things about me and how I was acting. I judged you before I knew you when we first met. But…you saw me as a friend and I know I do, especially after all we've been through."

About five minutes later, someone else came to the room. "Is it all right if I come in?" Maximilian Pegasus asked, trailed by Croquet. Seto involuntarily moved to protect his brother if Pegasus intended any sort of harm toward the child. But Max, sensing the teen CEO's unease said, "You have my word, I am not here to harm anyone. I'm here to help. Please let me help if I can…" His single amber eye was very earnest and yet nearly everyone in the room who was awake was tense around him.

Teá swallowed. "Pegasus…are you really here to help?" Her frightened and angry blue eyes met his amber one, trying to determine the truth or deception in his words.

"I owe every one of you in this room an apology…What I did was horribly, horribly wrong and I have been punished for that, but somehow it doesn't seem to be enough…"

Mai swallowed. "You don't owe me an apology…" she began, but Max held up his hand for silence.

"Mai…you don't need to tell me that something happened. I heard about Battle City…"

"It wasn't that, though it was a catalyst…" She would've said more, but Max quickly put two and two together.

"I've heard things about your father, Mai…so I don't blame you at all…So don't hurt yourself…I forgave what you did and I know you really weren't yourself. Yugi…taught me what forgiveness is. He wouldn't have come to help me when I asked if he hadn't forgiven me. Am I correct, Mr. Muto?"

Solomon Muto looked at the man who had kidnapped him just a few short years previously. He nodded. "Yugi has a great capacity for love and forgiveness. I've never known him to hold a grudge or to stay angry for long. He doesn't have it in him. I've been surprised with how sweet he's been…if I hadn't had him all these years…" He trailed off, pained.

Max moved to the bed and hesitantly reached a hand out to brush Yugi's bangs. "Don't you even think of leaving us, Yugi boy…Your life has impacted so many people…don't snuff it out…" Pegasus couldn't keep tears from falling from his eye. And as they sat around, others touched by the young duelist made their way to the hospital.

_I hope this next chapter was worth the wait, everyone. I'm terribly sorry it took so long. Please read and review!_


	6. The Long First Night

Chapter VI: The Long First Night

_Welcome back, everyone to "Whisper." I'm glad to see that there's a lot of interest in this story still. And I need to address a question raised about Yugi's religious faith. If you'll notice the type of prayer he uttered in chapter one, it is a modification of Jewish prayer. In my fictions which take place in the dub-verse with some modifications, Yugi is part Japanese and part Jewish in my version of the Yugi-verse. If you'd like more detail on the subject, please check the first chapter/appendix of _The Jedi League of Duelists_. _

_Now, when last we left the story, people who had been impacted by Yugi heard about what dire straits he was in, and either came or made plans to come to the hospital. Duke Devlin arrived first and told Yugi what an impact he'd made. Then Max Pegasus too said something similar. But what will happen now? Others are on their way._

_**Disclaimer: Peach doesn't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise.**_

It was 11:30 PM the night Yugi was admitted to Domino Children's Hospital when two women with red hair arrived. The police had been informed that these women were to be let through the lines and escorted to Yugi's room. Sure enough…

"Big brother!" Serenity Wheeler called as she headed through the hospital room door. Joey, half-asleep and his arm around Mai, darted quickly back to wakefulness.

"Ren? Hey," he said softly, getting up to hug his sister. Then he saw his mother. "Hey, Mom…"

"Joey, honey…we came as soon as we heard…" Elizabeth said gently. "How's he doing?" she asked.

Joey moved to hug his mom. He had finally reconciled with her when a few months before, Serenity had been in surgery to have her eyes repaired. Mother and son had spent the surgery talking about the day she and Serenity had escaped Jacob Wheeler's drunken tyranny and Joey understood why she'd had no choice but to leave him behind. And so he'd finally been able to let go of his anger toward his mom. "Mom…Yuge's going to make it, but…he didn't tell us anything was wrong. And we didn't see it…"

Elizabeth held him close. "Joey…sweetheart, you can't see what someone hides from you. Did Yugi act like he usually did before this happened?"

"Yeah, but…"

"Then how could you have known?" she asked him pointedly.

"I'm his best friend! Mom, I should've known," Joey answered, anguished and tearing up, despite himself. "Oh, great, I've got somethin' in my eye…"

"Mrs. Wheeler," Kisara said, and introduced herself. Then she said, "Joey has been through a major trauma. His actions saved Yugi's life, but it's shaken him. Joey…let your mom help you. No one is going to judge you for crying." And so Joey held onto his mother and cried.

Meanwhile, Serenity hugged Mai, too. "Mai, you're here! I'm so glad!"

"Yeah…little sister, and I'm here to stay…I've decided to stop running. That's what I've pretty much done all my life and running this last time almost cost me everything…including the love of my life…" she said, looking at Joey meaningfully. And he looked back at her from over his mother's shoulder.

"Joey? Is there something you want to tell me?" Elizabeth asked. Joey let go of his mom without a word, wiped his eyes and walked over to Mai. He pulled her into a very gentle kiss in front of everyone.

Pegasus clapped. "I thought as much…" he said, smiling. When Joey and Mai broke apart, they looked at the Industrial Illusions CEO. "You two seemed to belong together. I could tell at Duelist Kingdom."

"Say what?!" the two exclaimed…quietly.

The thirty-something entrepreneur nodded. "You belong together…"

Elizabeth grinned. "I'm glad you found someone, Joseph. Mai, I think I'll just get this out of the way. Welcome to the family, honey." She came over and gave her son's girlfriend a strong hug which Mai returned gladly.

And then Duke got up to say hello to Serenity. "Hi, Serenity…" She just glared at him.

"Serenity?" Joey asked, taking note of how uncharacteristically angry his sister looked.

"I have nothing to say to you, Duke," Serenity growled.

"What'd I do?" Duke asked, trying to be innocent.

"Don't pretend you don't know…I caught you with another girl and that wasn't the first time!" she said, hurt coming into her voice.

Mai, Joey and Tristan looked at Duke. If looks could kill, Duke's company would be short one CEO. "You broke my sister's heart?" Joey growled. "I knew I didn't like you, Devlin…"

"Why you…" Mai growled.

Tristan moved between the wronged girl and the raven-haired green-eyed teen. "Duke…that was low. That was just plain low. Serenity's special and if you couldn't see that, you're a fool."

"Tristan…" Serenity said in surprise. She looked up at him and met his eyes. "You…liked me this whole time, didn't you? And…you saved me. You didn't care about your life points. You just cared about making sure I was safe, didn't you?"

He nodded, giving Duke an opportunity to sit down and figuratively shrink into a chair. "I couldn't let Nesbit hurt you."

"But…why didn't you say anything?" she asked.

Tristan looked at Joey and then back at the young woman he knew he'd fallen in love with. "Your brother is my best friend…and I didn't want to proceed with you without his blessing. Joey…do I have it? And Serenity, could we start where we were?"

Serenity regarded him for a moment. "Okay…if we can start where we were…really good friends, we can see where it goes. Joey? Are you okay with this?"

Joey looked at his best friend and his little sister. "Tristan…thanks for askin' first. Ren…if he makes you happy, I'm happy, too. But if you hurt her, Tristan…" he warned.

"I wouldn't hurt her for the world…" the taller boy said. "Ever…"

Duke stood up from his seat and moved over to Serenity and Tristan. "All I can say is that I'm sorry. And I hope you'll forgive me someday." With that, he sat back down in his chair. He'd had a lot of girlfriends in his life and most had ended when he'd found a prettier girl. With Serenity, he hadn't wanted to break things off with her, but had found Bambi and then Britney. Bambi had stoked his ego and they'd had fun kissing in his shop until Serenity had caught them. He'd apologized and said it had meant nothing; she'd believed him. And then he'd been supposed to meet Serenity for a burger, but he'd met Britney and decided to have a little fun. And Serenity had caught them and until tonight, Duke hadn't seen her since. And now he knew it was over with her and he deserved it to happen.

"So…what can we do to help, Kisara?" Serenity asked. "Yugi helped me and I want to help him somehow."

"Serenity, what we're going to do is make sure that Yugi feels safe and loved, so when he wakes up, he knows we're not angry with him and that he is surrounded by the people who love and care about him the most. What I want you to do is talk to him. Tell him what's in your heart, okay? Tell him what he means to you…" Serenity nodded.

"Sh-should I start now?" she asked. Kisara nodded and helped the girl to a chair next to Yugi's bed. Hesitantly, Serenity took Yugi's hand. "Yugi…I don't know why you tried to…do what you did. But I'm glad you're still here. You don't know how much you helped…helped all of us. Without you, I wouldn't be able to see right now and Joey would've been lost without you. He told me about you in our video tape exchanges when you first started being friends and how nice you were. You didn't care if he'd been mean to you before, he said. You just cared that he was your friend…your best guy friend. And…I know he needed you, even if he didn't say it. And…I know I haven't known you that long, but as far as I'm concerned, you're another big brother. Yugi, please let us help you through this…" Serenity wiped her eyes and gently squeezed the spiky-haired boy's hand. "We aren't abandoning you; you didn't abandon us." She stood up and went to her mother.

"Okay…who'd like to say something next?" Kisara asked gently, looking around the room.

Bakura raised his hand. "May I please?" he asked in his soft British tones. When no one objected, Kisara nodded. He went and sat down in the chair Serenity had just vacated. He swallowed and laid a hand on Yugi's slim shoulder. "Yugi, it's Bakura. I don't know where to begin, exactly, but I suppose I'll begin at the beginning. I met you and everyone at Domino High. I was the strange quiet Brit in the school and yet you and your friends talked to me, trying to make friends. Back then I was fearful because I didn't know how my dark side would react if I found friends. And I knew we had a kinship, you and I. You were the only other person I knew of that had a Millennium Item and each of us had had strange things happen around us for which we had no explanation.

"And then we each realized we had another half to us. The key difference between us, though, was that your other half cared about what happened to you, not because he would be trapped in the Millennium Item, but because he genuinely cared about you. I envied you that, Yugi and we all mourn him. But…Yugi…you showed me kindness and mercy. You didn't turn your back on me because of my darker half. In fact…how many times did you and your friends risk your necks for me, saving me from him or trying to? I lost count. I was in a very dark place and there were times, had you and the others not been there, that I considered ending it and freeing myself from his tyranny. But you and everyone around you helped me through that darkness. My point, Yugi, is that you are a good, kind person who deserves to live in this world. We all care about you, Yugi. And now I wish to help you back into the light, as you helped me back. Please, Yugi…don't give up…"

When Bakura finished what he said, it was after midnight and everyone was falling asleep. Solomon Muto, sitting by Yugi's bed, didn't want to sleep. "Solomon, I'll stay up with him," Kisara said gently. "It's my job and he's my patient. And you're all my patients, too. Please, go to sleep. I'll wake you if there's any change."

"Thank you, Kisara," Solomon said softly. He brushed Yugi's smooth forehead with his rough, wrinkled hand. "Good night, Yugi…Grandpa's right here…" he whispered. Kisara went and got blankets for each of the people in the room. Dr. Scout Rhodes was just coming down the hallway when she saw her young colleague heading back to Yugi's room with a huge stack of blankets.

"Kisara, let me help you," she said as she walked up to the white-blonde girl. She took a few of the blankets. "Are you staying on tonight?"

Kisara nodded. "Yeah…I can watch Yugi tonight and they need me in there. They're a nice group of people and I really don't mind…"

Scout nodded. "I understand. You do what you need to do to help them. Remember what the rule is here…It's not just the person in the bed you're treating…"

"It's the family and friends around him or her," Kisara concluded. "I'll take care of them, Scout. And I'm going to stay up all night."

The older doctor with brown hair and brown eyes smiled. "Okay…and I'll quick call your mom and dad and let them know where you are." They tiptoed into the room and began covering everyone with warm blankets. "You sure you're okay tonight?"

The young doctor nodded as she laid the last blanket she had over Yugi's grandfather. "Yeah, I'll be okay, Scout. And I know to get you in the crash room if I need you, or on your pager." Scout nodded and left to call Kisara's parents. And Kisara sat down in her own chair next to Yugi's bed. "I'll be here all night…you just relax, Yugi…" she whispered, reaching out and brushing his bangs.

_And that is the end of this installment of Whisper. I await your reviews. Thanks! _


	7. The Morning After

Chapter VII: The Morning After

_Hello, Whisper readers! I am terribly sorry that it's been so long since I've gotten a new chapter out to you. Don't worry, I haven't lost interest in this tale and I don't intend to let this tale lie around unfinished. It will be completed. I just needed time to solve a few things. Anyway, when last we left the group, they had all settled in for the first long night since Yugi tried to kill himself. What will the morning bring?_

_**Disclaimer: Peach doesn't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise. She also doesn't own Dea Cantat or Coro di Dea, which belongs to the composer of the anime movie, "Ah! My Goddess." Peach doesn't own that, either.**_

At 4:30 in the morning, Mokuba Kaiba awoke, disoriented. He realized where he was and what had happened. Seto was sound asleep next to him and the small boy, just a few weeks short of his twelfth birthday, was awake and afraid. He'd had a nightmare where someone really bad had tried to hurt everyone, and the man had been stopped by… Mokuba wasn't sure what it was as it danced on the edge of his mental vision.

"Mokuba, is everything all right, sweetie?" Kisara asked softly, coming over to him.

"I…I had a bad dream, Kisara," he admitted. "I kind of remember what it was about but…it's fuzzy. I don't want to wake Seto. He's been working late a lot and since he donated blood, he needs the rest," Mokuba concluded.

"You're really close to him, huh?" she asked.

Mokuba nodded. "He's my brother and my best friend. And he's not mean like everybody thinks. He's not bad…"

"I don't think he is," Kisara said. "Otherwise, you wouldn't love him so much, and he wouldn't have done what he did a few hours ago to save Yugi. Now, what happens usually when you have a nightmare?"

"I usually crawl in bed with Seto and he tells me it'll be okay and then I'm able to fall asleep again. But…you're not him."

Kisara thought a moment. "Would it be okay if I sang for you, Mokuba?"

He nodded. "Seto says Mommy sang to me when I was in her tummy. I…sort of remember, but Seto thinks it's because he told me so many times. What do you think?" he whispered.

She smiled. "Mokuba, there are some kids that remember their time in their mommies' tummies. Maybe you do remember. Is there anything you'd like me to sing, honey?"

The boy shook his head. "You pick."

"Okay, then." And Kisara thought back to a song she'd heard in an anime movie, called Dea Cantat. The song's worded version, Coro di Dea, was in Latin and it was about being close to someone through your emotions. Mokuba climbed into her lap and she held him close, rocking him. And she sang the song softly, but not in words. She sang in la la's, brushing the boy's raven locks until he fell back to sleep.

"You sang him to sleep," Seto remarked quietly. He'd awakened and heard his brother and the young doctor's conversation and her song.

"Oh, Seto…sorry, did I wake you?" she asked, concerned that she had.

"No…I awoke when I heard Mokuba wake up, but I didn't want him to worry that I hadn't gotten enough sleep. What was that song you sang for him? I thought it was beautiful," he said gently, not wishing to disturb the sleeping little boy.

"It was Dea Cantat, from an anime movie I like, called…"

"'Oh, My Goddess,' right?" he asked. Her blue eyes widened in shock. "I've watched it," he admitted. "I love the imagery and the idea that angels do live among us…well, it's comforting," he concluded, flushing slightly.

She regarded him for a moment very seriously. "You're embarrassed to admit that. Why?"

"I guess I have a hard time with the spiritual. And everyone here will tell you I had a hard time accepting the supernatural. Or at least, I tried to ignore it…"

"Why?" she asked again. "You seem like the type that would accept it."

This assertion surprised him. "What makes you say that?"

Kisara looked at him piercingly. "You want the truth?"

"That would be preferable," he answered.

"I can sense things about you, Seto. You hide yourself because…you don't want to get hurt again. You've been hurt, haven't you?" she asked him softly.

Seto's eyes widened in shock. "How do you know that?" he whispered harshly. "Nobody knows that…"

"They do," she whispered back, gently, gesturing to the sleeping people around them. "Mokuba definitely does. He knows when you hurt, even if you try to hide it from him."

"But how do you know that?" he asked again.

"Well…this may sound strange to you, but…I can tell your emotions. And right now, part of you does believe me," she said, a little bit stunned.

He looked at her, stunned himself. A few short months ago, he would've tried to hide this feeling and deny it strongly. But now, he couldn't deny it, so he said, "Yeah. I do believe you. I guess I've seen too much to leave me a complete skeptic. And…Egypt taught me some things. I couldn't deny what was in front of me anymore. There is magic in this world and things that can't be explained by logic. I just hope those things can help him." Seto looked at Yugi's still form. "I still can't believe Yugi did that. I understand why, but…part of me still can't believe he'd try. He seems to have everything. I…wouldn't have admitted this, but all that time, I was jealous. Yugi didn't get tossed into an orphanage with his brother when his mother's sister and her husband wouldn't take them because they were too much trouble." His eyes spoke of pain that the young physician could see even without her talent.

"That's what happened to you," she said softly. "You and your brother were in the orphanage because someone was selfish and hateful. You didn't deserve that. May…may I hug you?" she asked. He nodded and she shifted to give him a gentle hug around the shoulders, but he hugged her normally. "Are you okay?" she asked when they released.

He nodded. "Could we just talk for a bit if it doesn't disturb you?"

"Of course," she answered softly. And so they talked until dawn.

At 7 AM, Mokuba awoke in Kisara's arms. "Huh? Oh, Kisara, what time is it?"

"It's seven, Mokie," Seto answered before she could. "You sleep okay?"

"Yeah, big brother. Did I wake you up?" he asked softly.

Seto knew he couldn't lie to his brother. "It's okay, Mokuba. You know I don't sleep a lot anyway. Kisara and I have been getting to know each other. Is that okay?" he asked. The boy nodded solemnly.

Shortly thereafter, everyone in the room except for Yugi awakened. Joey was the first to talk. "Morning, everybody," he said gently as Mai moved her head from his shoulder. "Anything, doc?" he asked Kisara. She shook her head.

"He's just sleeping thanks to the sedative. We have some nourishment going in through the IV," she explained softly, "so we won't have to worry about waking him to feed him until tomorrow. By then he should be okay to wake up."

"Yugi," Solomon murmured, brushing his grandson's bangs. "Kisara, what will he need to recover from this?"

"He's going to need counseling, Solomon, but he already has other elements that he needs. He has people who love and care about him and won't leave him through this. He's got an excellent support group and he won't be under a lot of stress. It's going to take some time before Yugi's better emotionally, but he's going to heal physically within the next couple of weeks if all goes well. We'll have to see how his hands are. Dr. Rhodes doesn't think Yugi did any permanent damage to his hands, but she has to wait and see how he moves them. She said nothing was severed, but Yugi's hands may temporarily be numb. But we won't know until he wakes up," she sighed. "So that means if he wants to duel, it'll have to wait until he recovers. Again, though, he's going to be okay with time and care."

Everyone nodded in agreement. "We'll all stay with him, if that's all right, Kisara," Teá said calmly, looking around at the group. "We want to be with him so he isn't alone when he wakes up. Should we just keep talking?" she asked.

Kisara nodded. "Of course…" Some of the gang had talked last night, so now, it was Mokuba's turn. He moved to the chair closest to Yugi on the right side of the teen boy's bed and brushed his arm.

"Hi, Yugi…it's morning and we're all glad you're here. We've all decided we're not leaving until you wake up. I'm here, Seto's here, your grandpa's here…" Mokuba named everyone that had stayed. "I bet lots more people are going to want to see you and talk to you, so you need to just come back to us. You've missed a lot of stuff already. Joey and Seto finally said they're going to stop fighting and Joey's mommy and Serenity are here. And…" Here the little boy looked around for a moment and moved close to the teen boy's spiky head. "…I think Seto likes Kisara…He's acting funny."

Mokuba hadn't whispered quietly enough, evidently, because the teens now looked at each other and then at the CEO and the white-blue blonde doctor. Kisara was slightly pink, as was Seto. "Mokuba…" the blue-eyed teen male muttered, slightly shocked.

"Sorry, big brother," the small boy apologized. "But you never act like this…"

"Like…what?"

Before Mokuba could answer, the room door flew open and… "YUGI-KINS!"

_So who has just entered the picture, everyone? Can you guess? So what will happen? Stay tuned next time to find out the answer! It won't be entirely pretty. I'll try to update this much more quickly, folks, so read, review and stay tuned until next time!_


	8. Shared Pain

Chapter VIII: Shared Pain

_Hello again, readers of _Whisper. _It has been a while since I wrote a chapter for this story and I hope you don't mind the delay. Anyway, thank you for all of your reviews! I love to hear from you._

_So, to recap, last time, Kisara, Seto and Mokuba all got better acquainted when the little boy had a nightmare about a bad man trying to hurt everyone. Kisara sang to Mokuba to get him back to sleep and then she and Seto got to know each other a little better. The group awoke and then as Mokuba was talking to a still-unconscious Yugi, the door to his room flung open and a voice called out to him…So who is our mystery person? Read on!_

_**Disclaimer: Peach doesn't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, but she does own this story and any non-established characters and this version of the Yugi-verse. Thank you.**_

"YUGI-KINS!" The door to Yugi's hospital room had flung open to reveal a little girl with blonde hair pulled into pigtails, big blue eyes and freckles on her cheeks. She wore glasses, and a girl's blue sailor suit with white knee-high socks and brown penny loafers. And right now, her eyes showed that she'd been crying. She headed straight to his bed and took his hand. "Yugi…why'd you do it? And why didn't anybody call me? I mean, I am his girlfriend!" she complained.

Kisara took a deep breath and asked, "Excuse me, young lady, but I must ask who you are. Could you tell me?" She knelt at the child's level, meeting her eyes.

"My name's Rebecca Hawkins and I'm his girlfriend and nobody called me," Rebecca said in obvious pain. Kisara sensed this, but also sensed a feeling of awkwardness from most of the group…and mounting anger.

_But who is so angry?_ Kisara wondered as she scanned the teens and adults. Mai and the boys felt awkward, Solomon was embarrassed and amused; the security guards were puzzled, and Teá…_She's angry,_the white-blonde doctor realized in shock. _This girl's moved in on her territory…But this girl can't be more than twelve…And Yugi hasn't had a girlfriend…_

And then an elderly gentleman entered the room as well. "Solomon…Rebecca and I came as soon as we heard," he said with obvious traces of British heritage in his voice. He wasn't a very tall man but he was a bit taller than Solomon Muto with twinkling blue eyes

"Arthur…" Solomon got up from his seat and moved to the taller man. "Oh, Kisara, this is Professor Arthur Hawkins and his granddaughter, Rebecca." Kisara stood and shook the professor's hand.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you personally, Professor. I attended your symposium on dueling in ancient Egypt when I was 10," Kisara said with a grin. "I thought your ideas were fascinating. And it's an honor to meet the man who discovered the lost city of Atlantis."

"Well, I'm pleased I made an impression, young lady," the elderly man answered, shaking her hand gently. "My Rebecca can't quite decide what she wants to be yet…she's in college, trying out her wings. She's as brilliant as her parents were, but a great deal faster in school."

"I've heard of her as well," Kisara said. "She's about the age I was when I started my internship at Seattle Children's…"

Rebecca sat at Yugi's bedside. "You couldn't tell me you were sad? I email you every day…you tell me you're fine…Yugi, I tell you stuff…"

"Has it occurred to you that maybe he's not comfortable telling you things?" Everyone looked at the source of the voice. Had they not looked, they would not have believed it was Teá Gardner talking. "You think he's _your _boyfriend?" she growled.

Rebecca looked up at the older girl, startled. "Teá? What's going on?"

The taller girl glared at the younger one. Perhaps, had circumstances been different, the normally cheery dancer would've been kinder. But the emotions of the past several hours had drained her emotional reserves. And so… "What's going on is that he never liked you that way! He was too nice to say anything and he didn't want to hurt your feelings! YOU THINK THAT HE LIKES YOU SIMPLY BECAUSE HE GAVE YOU THAT STUPID CARD?! HE WAS BEING NICE TO YOU AND WANTED TO BE FRIENDS! BUT YOUR IDEA OF REALITY IS SO TWISTED, YOU DON'T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FRIENDSHIP AND HAVING A BOYFRIEND! AND YOU HAVEN'T BEEN THERE FOR HIM LIKE I HAVE! YOU DIDN'T SEE HIM WHEN HE DIDN'T HAVE ANY FRIENDS! YOU WEREN'T THERE WHEN THE BULLIES BEAT HIM UP! YOU WEREN'T THERE AT DUELIST KINGDOM WHEN HE ALMOST GOT KILLED! YOU WEREN'T AT BATTLE CITY AND SCARED TO DEATH SOME NUTCASE WAS GOING TO MURDER HIM! OH SURE, YOU WERE THERE WHEN ONE NUTCASE TOOK HIM AWAY, BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE HIM YOUR BOYFRIEND! GET A CLUE!" Teá yelled. Tears were streaming down her face and she ran out of the room.

Rebecca's big blue eyes were full of tears. "Wh-why did she say that? I mean…"

Kisara knew that this hurt, but on some level, it was something that the little girl had to hear. "Rebecca, honey, come here," she said, sitting in a chair and beckoning the small upset girl. Rebecca came and sat next to the older girl. "Sweetie, first…how old are you?"

Rebeccasighed. "I'm going to be twelve really soon."

"Do you know how old Yugi is?" the doctor asked gently.

"Eighteen," the little girl answered. "Why…Oh…Yugi could get in trouble…but I'd wait until we were both grown up!"

Kisara sighed. "Rebecca, did he ever ask you to be his girlfriend?" She knew this was going to hurt, but it had to be done. She put her arm around the small girl, knowing from experience that knowing a crush was just that could be devastating.

The little bespectacled blonde girl thought a moment and thought all the way back to the day she had met Yugi. _He gave me that card so we'd be friends,_ she thought. _But…he never did ask me to be his girlfriend. _"I am so stupid…he never asked me. I just assumed, I guess. And I forgot what they say about assuming," she sighed, tears coming down her face. "Never assume because that makes an ass of you and me."

"Rebecca, honey," Kisara said softly, holding the little girl in a hug, "you're a lot like me. Your head's several years ahead of the rest of you. I had a crush on a boy that was way older than me once. I pretended he was my boyfriend…and he didn't tell me what I needed to hear. I was ten years old and he was my study buddy. One day, I was supposed to meet him at the Suzzallo-Allen Library at the Allen wing at UW, but when I got there, Julian was with his girlfriend and they were kissing. I yelped, and he heard me. He called out to me, but I ran. I ran from that end of the building over to the Suzzallo wing, and when Julian finally found me, I was sitting on the marble staircase in Suzzallo, crying my heart out."

The young doctor drew a breath and continued, "I remember everything about that day. I was wearing a pair of loafers and white socks like you're wearing, a blue denim skirt, a white mock turtleneck with lace cuffs and a lace collar and I had my hair pulled back with a blue scrunchie. Julian came to me and sat down. 'Kisara,' he said, 'I'm sorry you saw that, but the fact is, I'm eighteen and you're ten. I figured you had a crush on me but I didn't want to hurt your feelings. So today I was going to have you meet my girlfriend, Moira, and you'd know I had a girlfriend. But…you came a little sooner than I intended. But do you understand why it wouldn't be right for you and me to be in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship?' he asked. I thought about it, and I understood. He was too old for me and it wouldn't have been right. I might've had the brains of a grad school student, but I was still a ten-year-old girl. Julian and I remained friends, and when I was fourteen, I attended his wedding to Moira. We're still friends…but the fact remains, I needed to hear what he said that day. And when Yugi wakes up, he'll tell you what you need to hear…from his own mouth, okay?"

The little girl wiped her eyes and looked up at Kisara. For a short moment, she seemed unsure of how to react, and then she smiled shakily. "Yeah…I did need to hear it. Thanks, Kisara…Um, should we find Teá?" Rebecca asked. "I think…she's hurting more than I am…"

Kisara smiled a little. "You're both hurting, sweetheart. And I think you need each other."

Rebecca moved to Yugi's bedside and slipped her hand in his for one moment. "Yugi, I'm sorry. I guess I should've thought. But it's okay…I'm your friend and I'll be happy if you're happy. I'm going with Kisara to go find Teá…I'll be back, Yugi," she promised. "Grandpa…" She walked over to the man who'd raised her and gave him a hug.

"Rebecca…my darling girl," Arthur Hawkins soothed.

"Grandpa…I'll be okay," Rebecca smiled, hugging against him, still with the traces of tears on her face. "I needed to hear that, even if I didn't want to hear it."

Arthur kept her close. "I didn't want to be the one to break your heart, little love. Grandpas aren't supposed to do that, you know."

"But you're more than my grandpa," she pointed out. "You raised me…"

"That I did…now, just remember, Teá is in as much pain, if not more so than you. And she is going to feel terribly for what she said. Regardless of whether you needed to hear it or not, she is going to feel very angry with herself. So, please, darling…"

Rebecca nodded. "I'll be understanding, Grandpa." With that, she let go and took Kisara's hand. "Let's find her, Kisara…I'll be back, Yugi…" The two walked out of the room together quietly.

Joey moved back over to the bed. "Yuge, it'll be okay, man. I think we all knew how Teá feels about you…When you wake up, you've got to talk to her…"

Meanwhile, Kisara and Rebecca made their way down the hall. The doctor had a good idea of where the dancer had gone and stretched out her limited abilities. _I thought so…_And then Rebecca spoke.

"Kisara? What do I say to Teá?" the small girl asked.

"Rebecca, I think you can tell Teá what comes from your heart. She's in a lot of pain, and I think you'll know the right things to say…"

The child genius thought a minute. "This is almost like the day we thought he was gone…Kisara, do you remember when the Duel Monsters invaded?" The doctor nodded in response. "Well, he got taken away…and his other side was there. I was so mad then, and so sad…Teá was too, but I didn't really think about how she felt. I think about it, and she was really sad. She looked…devastated, and I didn't even see it…I was so busy thinking about how I felt, I didn't see what was going on with Teá. I didn't want to see it, I guess." Rebecca's blue eyes grew very sad. "I've been really selfish, haven't I?"

Kisara stopped and knelt down at the little girl's level. "You just didn't notice. We all are guilty of that at some time or another. Some people never realize they're doing that, but others do and like you are trying to make it better. Honey, it's going to be all right…you'll see." The doctor held out her arms and Rebecca hugged her tightly. "Now, let's go find Teá, okay?"

Rebecca pulled away with a smile. "Okay…she needs to know she's not alone…" With that, the two got up and continued on their way. "Where are we going?"

"To the chapel on this floor…that's where Teá is, honey…"

A few minutes earlier, Teá Heather Gardner had run to…where, she wasn't sure. But she found herself in a little chapel where people often came to think or pray. Her heart was pounding and her head was swimming with tiredness, pain and confusion. _How could I blow up like that? I've gotten mad before, but never like that…_And then she remembered back at the Grand Championship. She had blown up then when Rebecca and Vivian Wong had fought over Yugi like two dogs fighting over a bone. _I couldn't stand it and Joey had to calm me down…He didn't today…But…I love Yugi…I've loved him all along…I…_ It was then that she started crying again. She had cried yesterday night, and now the tears flowed fresh as she sank into a pew. She couldn't tell how long she was there, but then she felt a gentle pressure on her shoulder and looked to her side.

"Hi, Teá," Rebecca said gently. "Can I sit here with you?" she asked. Teá nodded, and the little girl sat down. "I came to say…I'm sorry…"

The older girl hadn't been expecting this at all. Her eyes went wide with shock and she stammered, "Rebecca…what…what do you have to apologize for? I was just horrible to you!"

The younger girl shook her head. "No…I needed to hear what you said. I didn't notice a lot or I chose to ignore it. Teá, you loved him for a long time and you still do, right?"

Teá swallowed, wiping her blue eyes. "Yeah…Rebecca, Yugi and I have been friends for such a long time. We've been friends, but it's stronger than that…I knew at Duelist Kingdom, but…I didn't want to wreck what we had. And Yugi had too much to worry about." She took a deep shaky breath. "But…I've loved him all along. If the Pharaoh had been stuck with Yugi, I could've accepted and loved them both. They were basically the same person, but the Pharaoh just was Yugi, a bit older…I think Yugi thought I thought the Pharaoh was better than him." The dancer's tears flowed again and Rebecca put her arms around her.

"Teá, I don't he ever really thought that. He knew you loved them both; I'm sure of it. I think back now…and it was obvious how you've always felt about Yugi. Did you ever tell him what you thought of both of them?"

Teá thought back to three years previously at Duelist Kingdom, just before Yugi had been forced to duel Seto on top of Pegasus's fairytale castle. "I told him that I wasn't sure what was going on, but I knew that he and his other side were both great guys…That was back at Duelist Kingdom before he had to duel Seto." The older girl shivered with the sobs she'd cried earlier. Kisara, who'd wisely let Rebecca go to talk on her own, now moved into the room.

"Hey, Teá," the doctor said gently, "Rebecca wanted to talk to you…and no one's upset with you. You've been through a lot in the past few hours and…you let out what you've been really feeling. When Yugi wakes up, you can tell him how you've felt all this time. My guess is that he knows already, but he didn't want to make a move until you did."

Teá, still hugging Rebecca, nodded. "Thanks for…"

"Teá," Rebecca said, "it's not necessary. I'm thanking you…I am too young for him and I am still a kid. I'll find somebody when I'm big enough. I've got lots of time." The little girl got a soft smile on her face, knowing how true that was. "So don't be mad at yourself since you told me what I needed to know."

The older girl stood up and got a hug from the young doctor. "How's Yugi?"

"It hasn't changed. He'll stay under until tomorrow. Scout and I want his body to have time to recover. He lost enough blood that his own body needs time to really replenish it. We have to watch his hands too as you know…"

"So can we go back?" the dancer asked.

"Of course."

The three girls returned to the room and Teá held Yugi's hand in hers.

"I'm here," she whispered softly, brushing his bangs.

"We all are, Yugi-boy," Pegasus added gently.

As the little band stayed around the unconscious King of Games, the Ishtars slept on an Egypt Air flight on the way to New York City's JFK International Airport, where they would connect with a flight to Domino International Airport. And in Domino, a man with dark blonde hair and brown eyes with a barrel-chested build returned home from his most recently terminated job. He didn't know where his son was at the moment, and nor did he truly care. Or he didn't until he hit the button on his answering machine…

"Joey, it's Serenity…I'm guessing you're at the hospital right now, but I just wanted you to know that Mom and I are coming. We'll come to the hospital so we can help you…we'll probably find a hotel or something when we get there. I love you, Joey. See you soon…" His daughter's voice…

Jacob Robert Wheeler frowned angrily. _They're here,_ he thought. _She wouldn't come without the XXXX,_he knew, using a derogatory term for his ex-wife. On the day Elizabeth had left with Serenity, an element of Jake's control over his life had been diminished. He had left them alone when they'd returned to Domino, partly because he'd been fired from a job that week and had drunk himself into a stupor. He didn't know much of what had happened with his son and yet managed to berate the boy for not coming in the top three in the Battle City finals. But now…Jake wasn't about to let his XXXX of an ex-wife leave and he'd make sure she paid for leaving him. And so he would plan and go to wherever they were tonight. He turned on the TV and saw the special report about a gathering crowd at Domino Children's because Yugi Muto had attempted suicide. _Muto…that shrimp my loser boy hangs around. That's where they are! Well, I'm coming…_ And then he began formulating his plan…

_So we end on an ominous note…What will happen next? Please stay tuned and please read and review. Your views and reviews are always appreciated. Thank you!_


	9. Nightmare

Chapter IX: Nightmare

_Hello again, _Whisper _readers! I know it's been about a month, but as often happens, life gets in the way. So anyway, we're back! Thanks to all of you who read and reviewed! So here comes another chapter._

_When last we left, Yugi was still out and Teá and Rebecca dealt with their feelings about a certain violet-eyed young duelist. And then, as the group sat around Yugi's bed, elsewhere in the city, an older man by the name of Jacob Robert Wheeler heard his daughter's phone message to her big brother. So what will happen in the evening over 24 hours after Yugi was admitted to the Domino Children's Hospital? Stay tuned!_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise or any of its characters. I also don't own Miranda Bailey from TV's "Grey's Anatomy," but I think she should be the chief surgeon. I hope Shonda Rhimes doesn't mind me borrowing Dr. Bailey, and of course, I must thank the magnificent Chandra Wilson for playing Bailey so well.**_

_**Warning: Violence, language and death. You won't mind who dies. Trust me.**_

_**Author's note: Again, this story takes place in the dub-verse, so this tale takes place in the US. And credit where credit is due! Agent of the Divine One came up with the name for the Von Schroeder father, which means "shrewd," and he also suggested the use of "liebchen," a German term of endearment which means "sweetheart." Also, as is usual, I have bleeped certain language in order to preserve the T rating. You older readers and more savvy readers can read between the lines and figure out the words I've eliminated. Thank you!**_

The first full day of Yugi's hospitalization wore on and the various news reporters that were stationed outside of the hospital found themselves repeating information that was already known. The young people and adults who waited and watched kept on listening for any news of the young man whom they'd come to admire and love. Across the world outside of Dusseldorf, Germany, Zigfried and Leon Von Schroeder sat glued to their big screen TV in their ancestral home's huge drawing room, disbelieving that their friend could've tried to kill himself. They wanted to be in Domino, but unfortunately, Zigfried's responsibilities to the family business didn't allow them to fly halfway around the world to California.

"Big brother," Leon asked softly, his brown eyes sad over his freckled cheeks, "why did Yugi try to…I mean, everybody around him cares about him." The boy ran a hand through his ruddy-pink locks of hair and tears started to come. _I just dueled him a couple of months ago and he was so happy,_ Leon thought sadly. _How could he just..?_

Zigfried Von Schroeder sighed. He remembered better than his little brother the day their father had attempted to kill himself. Gerissen had collapsed under intense pressure and tried to take his own life and had ended up in a mental hospital when Zigfried was 15, leaving the older boy in charge of the company. _And I wasn't a very good brother and mentor to Leon…I was horrible to him…_ He took a deep breath and put a reassuring arm around the not-quite twelve-year-old boy, meeting the warm brown eyes with his blue ones. "He was hurting, Leon…for what reason, we do not know…"

"But, big brother…he had lots of people to help him," Leon said, eyes filling with tears. "He just…why didn't..?"

Zigfried pulled the boy into a very tight hug. "Liebchen… sometimes, it is hardest to tell those we love just how much we hurt. And perhaps whatever occurred was just too much for him to handle. He just wanted to end the pain, and perhaps felt the people around him would be better off. I am not saying it is logical or right, what he did, but I think I can understand it…"

"Like when Papa tried?" Leon asked, looking up from burying his face in his brother's silk suit. "When he felt so horrible?"

"Yes, liebchen, but perhaps for different reasons…We don't know what caused Yugi's depression and perhaps we will never know. But we must not judge him, little brother. We don't know what caused him to do this thing. There is one thing we can do, though," the older brother murmured gently.

"What's that, Zigfried?"

"We can send him something to let him know he isn't alone," Zigfried smiled. "How about we send him cards?"

Leon thought a short moment. And then he gave his brother a big smile. "Let's make them instead of buying them…" Zigfried nodded, smiling. And so the two brothers got out paper, pens and glue and made their own get well cards for their friend, the King of Games. And just before they packed their cards into envelopes to be mailed to Domino, Leon took a look at all of his treasured Duel Monsters cards. _Hmm, I think I'll send him this one…_ He took the spell card, The Golden Castle of Stromberg and tucked it into the get well card with the additional message, "I want you to have this and remember that I'm your friend and Zigfried and I will help you."

Some time later, the Von Schroeder brothers stood in line at a Dusseldorf post office. "Big brother, do you think that this'll really help Yugi feel better?"

Zigfried looked down at his brother thoughtfully. Had Leon been younger, he would've definitely reassured the boy that yes, his get well card and the spell card he'd given would make Yugi better, but the teen knew better than to offer that reassurance to a nearly twelve-year-old boy like Leon wouldn't be right. "I'm not sure, Leon, but I think it might help him remember that he has support."

Leon looked up, smiling. "Thanks, big brother."

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

Back in Domino, the sun was going down, the shadows around the city were lengthening, and people remained around the perimeter of Domino Children's Hospital. The Ishtar family had just landed at Domino International Airport and headed through customs and to baggage claim. "It's better this time that we're all here together," Marik sighed as they climbed into their rental car.

"And completely legally, little brother. We could've been in a great deal of trouble at Battle City," Ishizu commented.

"Sister, we were in trouble," Marik commented, thinking of his evil side and the horrible things he had done as well. _All because I was angry at my place in life…_

"Uh, little brother, I believe she's referring to the fact that we could have been sent to the Guantanamo Bay prison for terrorism," Odion muttered.

Marik sweat-dropped, realizing his brother and sister were right. "Oh, yeah…coming to town, threatening to kill someone and sending goons to do it…not exactly non-terrorist behavior, is it?"

"We're very lucky we weren't reported to Homeland Security and put on the no-fly list," Ishizu sighed. "Anyway, I'm glad we were able to get here. Yugi needs us."

"What can we do? We can't resurrect…the Pharaoh…" Marik murmured, trailing off. He suddenly realized what may have driven Yugi to attempt suicide. "That's why he did it…He misses the Pharaoh too much. He couldn't stand it…" The two older Ishtars looked at the younger one in horrified understanding.

"We must get to the hospital, then, Marik. He'll need everyone who can be with him if he is to recover from this," Ishizu asserted, her blue eyes flashing. "May the gods have mercy on him," she murmured softly.

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

Little did the Ishtars know that mercy was something that not only Yugi, but another of the group's number needed. For at this very moment, Jacob Wheeler took out a six-pack of beer and popped the top on the first can. One could not be precisely sure what turned this man into a complete monster. He hadn't been subjected to violence as a child, and his parents had been firm and loving disciplinarians. But sometime in his teens, he got the idea that people around him must be controlled. And so he fell into a pattern with people, getting angry with them and treating them well by turns. This tactic turned off some people, jerks that couldn't appreciate him, he thought, but a young woman named Elizabeth Alanis Reid fell for the nice guy she thought she saw. Several years later, after she'd born him two children and he'd shown interest in other women because she wasn't any fun in his mind, she'd left with their worthless daughter and wanted to take Joey, but there was no way he'd allow that. He didn't want his son to think that women were in a position to rule over men in any way, but by the time Liz had left, Joey already was damaged in Jake's twisted mind.

_They're back here,_ he thought, guzzling the first can as if it were water. _That XXXX and that little blind brat…_ He seemed to forget that his daughter had her eyesight back, and perhaps that was a good thing. Joey had given Serenity three million dollars to restore her eyesight and even set up a college fund, but all Jake knew about was that his son had won three million dollars and not shared much. When he was in his rages, particularly about money, he took out his anger on Joey, and if the boy protested his treatment, Jake would hit him into line. Sure, the boy had bruises the next day, but he was hard-headed and needed the rougher treatment. And now, it seemed that Joey would need the beating of his life. _He's with them…I'll make him wish he'd listened to me instead of that XXXXX._

After he downed his fifth beer in the space of 20 minutes, one might assume that a man of Jake Wheeler's size would be unable to do much of anything because he would be extremely drunk. However, the alcohol only served to fuel Jake's rage. He finished his beer and went to the closet of his squalid bedroom. He got down on the floor and pried open a loose floorboard. Under that floorboard was a box and concealed in the box was a handgun, which the drunken man managed to load and place in his pocket. _That little XXXXXXX,_ he thought of his only son, _he's going to regret siding with them. And if anything happens to stop me from dealing with him the way I should, no one will take me alive. I ain't going to prison for exercising my rights._ And with that ominous thought, he left the apartment for the last time.

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

About half an hour later, the crowd of fans and friends surrounding Domino Children's hospital lit candles in the early summer dusk. It was 9:00 in the evening and thanks to the shadows of buildings, the area around the hospital was lit by streetlights and the lights of hundreds of candles. Fans of the King of Games, young and old, stood around the outside of the hospital, wanting their hero to know that whatever he was facing, he wouldn't face it alone. The police officers and news crews at the scene were impressed that the crowd had remained orderly and polite even as the hours dragged on. But at 9:15, that changed.

A man with disheveled and greasy blonde hair and a barrel chest, wearing a grey t-shirt and jeans staggered through the crowd. A few people stepped back, repelled by his anger and the fact that he reeked like a barroom floor. His brown eyes, familiar to those who were fans of the self-proclaimed Godfather of Games, blazed with a combination of alcoholic intoxication and mind-blowing rage.

"Hey, mister, are you related to Joey Wheeler?" a seven-year-old boy with red hair and freckles asked, somehow unaware of the danger this man posed. The man turned at the mention of his son, eyes flashing.

"Yeah, I'm that little bXXXXXX's dXXX father. Why? Do you want an autograph or something, you little XXXX?!" Jake growled.

The little boy's father moved in front of his child. "Hey, what's your problem? He just asked you a question!" he growled.

"Ooh, big man! Well guess what? I'm bigger," Jake grinned nastily, pulling out his gun. The man moved back, keeping the little boy behind him. The crowd parted and Jake moved forward.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but we're not letting anyone through," a police officer on the other end of the barricade around the hospital said pleasantly.

"Excuse me? I'm here to see my wife and kids," Jake said, not managing to keep the slight slur out of his speech. "They're in there with Mugi Yuto, I mean, Yugi Muto."

The police officer picked up on the slurred speech. "Sir, have you been drinking this evening?" he asked, moving slightly closer. "I'd like to talk to you for a minute." Perhaps that was a mistake, but a necessary one.

Jake Wheeler's eyes blazed. "What do you mean, you glorified meter man?! I pay your fXXXXXX salary with my XXXXXXX taxes! Now, out of my way!" he shouted, trying to shove past the officer.

The police officer wouldn't allow him forward and other police officers called in an emergency signal as Jake Wheeler drew his gun. "Weapon drawn! Everyone back!" the officer shouted.

In the hospital, the police officer's signal was relayed to the staff. And then, Scout Rhodes came running down the hall of one floor to Yugi's room. "We've just gone to Code Green. There's a guy outside, trying to get in and he's armed!"

Kisara's eyes widened in horror. "Oh my gosh! Any idea who it is?"

Scout nodded. "He says he wanted to see his wife and kids, and then started yelling about his…um…blankety blanking son…"

"Joey, right?" Joey asked, his eyes wide in shock. "That's my dad…and he's hammered."

"Joey?" Teá asked, eyes wide with fear and questions. "Your dad?"

"Yeah…I can calm him down," he said. "Ma, Ren, stay here! I can handle it!" And then Joey charged out of the room and down the hall before anyone could stop him.

"Joey!" Elizabeth called after him, knowing that it was futile. "Jake's in a rage and he's probably drunk," she sighed.

"What?" everyone in the room asked in shock. Well, almost everyone.

Tristan shifted uncomfortably and sighed as his friends and the others except for Elizabeth and Serenity in the room looked at him. "Joey asked me not to tell," he explained softly. "Teá, Bakura, Grandpa Muto, Duke, Mai…guys, Joey's dad hurts him and…" The brown-haired pointy-haired boy struggled visibly for control. It was evident that holding this secret in was hurting him.

Mai took a deep breath. "Why didn't he..?" she murmured.

"He didn't want anybody knowing. He loves his dad, even with all the guy's done to him. And Joey didn't want to leave his dad because he was worried his dad might hurt somebody else or die of alcohol poisoning, and he knew one of us might tell because we wouldn't let him keep getting hurt, but he kn…knew…I wouldn't tell…" Tristan couldn't hold back the tears any longer. He sank into a chair, shivering, and Mai, without a word, charged out of the room…

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

Meanwhile, in a simple two-level house not too far from Domino Children's Hospital, Katai Misawa held her five-year-old son, Bastion in her arms as they watched a family show together. Bastion was watching intently, but not like so many five-year-old boys. He would sit with his mother and not fidget, even during the commercials.

"Mummy," the small boy with dark hair and big gray eyes asked his raven-haired, brown-eyed mother with his British accent, "those commercials exaggerate a great deal, don't they? I mean, are those really the 'best chocolates in the world?' Every chocolate maker seems to think that, don't they?"

Katai smiled at her son, clad in his favorite red pajamas with his initials monogrammed into the left breast pocket in a darker red thread. Once again, she reflected in her mind at how brilliant Bastion was at such a young age. He already recognized exaggerations in commercials and used the proper word instead of saying that commercials "lied." He was also brilliant at mathematics and the teachers at the Davida Dyson Preschool for Extraordinary Munchkins had recommended that he attend the Albert Einstein School for his elementary education, so he was now in Einstein's summer Pre-K program. The teachers at Einstein quickly informed the Misawa parents that their only child was exceedingly gifted and would do great things.

But somehow that didn't matter to Katai. She loved how brilliant he was, but when she thought about it, she knew what she loved more. She loved the sweet little boy that opened doors for people and was polite and kind to everyone. He picked flowers at recess and took them in to his teachers and even saved a bouquet for his mother when she came to pick him up. He would try to make his classmates feel better when they were down and explained things to the kids that didn't understand what the teachers were trying to teach at points. Katai knew that even with this, Bastion had no real friends. He was so brilliant, he had difficulty truly communicating with his classmates, but Katai knew that someday, her son would find true friends that cared about him and liked the brilliant boy for who he was.

So now, she cuddled him close, also clad in her pink short pajamas as they watched. "The chocolate makers probably do think that, Bastion. And the commercials do exaggerate a bit, but that's because they want to sell their products. Some people believe what the commercials say and then buy the products. Other people buy the products because they try them and like them. So that's what happens, sweetie."

"Oh, all right, then," Bastion answered.

And then the TV cut away from the commercial to the channel's news. "This is a DMNO 4 special report," the announcer's voice said as the view changed to the news desk and a pretty woman with pale skin, dark hair and dark eyes. "Good evening, this is Desiree Tisdale-Huffington, and we're breaking into regular programming because there is a developing situation at Domino Children's Hospital. Last night and today, we've been reporting from the hospital because as most of you may know, Yugi Muto, the King of Games and world champion of the popular card game, Duel Monsters, was hospitalized after a suicide attempt.

"But just a few short moments ago, an assailant came to the hospital in an attempt to get in to see his estranged ex-wife and two children. We have not yet identified the man, but at present, he is in a standoff with police officers and he apparently has a gun…"

Katai's eyes widened in shock and held Bastion a little tighter. "Mummy," the little boy asked, "will Daddy be all right? He's in there." As intellectually gifted as Bastion was, he was still very much a five-year-old boy, knowing that his father was in a place where a bad man was and that bad man could hurt his father.

Katai met her little boy's frightened gray eyes. "Angel, I hope he will be. He'll call us…" And just as she said it, the phone rang. "Hello?"

"Katai, darling, it's Hiro," Hiro Misawa, a tall man with dark hair and glasses said from his third floor office at Domino Children's. "I'm afraid I'm stuck here…There's some angry man with a gun…"

"I heard," she answered, "and Bastion and I are watching this. Any idea who he is?"

On the other end of the line, Hiro shook his head. "I can't be entirely certain. I can't see what's going on from here, nor can I see the assailant," he explained in the accent he'd passed on to his son. "So I have no idea who is doing this. I'll be home as soon as I can…"

Bastion uncharacteristically wriggled. "I want to talk to Daddy," he murmured.

"Hiro, do you have a minute to talk to Bastion?" Katai asked. "We understand if you can't, but…"

"Put him on," Hiro answered quickly. And so Katai did.

"Hi, Daddy. Mummy and I are frightened," Bastion admitted. "That bad man won't get you, will he?"

"I'm on the other side of the building, son. I'm not in the line of fire," the ophthalmologist explained gently, wishing he could pick up Bastion and hold him close. "I don't think the bad man will come to me. It'll be all right, my boy. Can you do something for me?"

Bastion swallowed. "Of course, Daddy. What would you have me do?"

Hiro smiled. "Stay close to Mum. Can you do that?"

Bastion nodded. "Yes, Daddy. I'll stay close to Mummy and we'll be here."

"I know you will…Let me talk to your mother, all right?"

"All right, Daddy," the boy said and handed his mother the phone.

"Hiro, what is it?" the worried wife and mother asked.

"Let him stay awake until I get home. I don't think he'll sleep, love…besides, this shan't take long as we have many police officers thanks to the hospital's special visitor. I just hope lethal force isn't necessary to stop that man…"

"I know, Hiro…please, honey, be very careful," Katai said. "I love you so much."

"And I love you too, darling…I'll be home as soon as possible." The couple said good-bye and while Hiro paced his office, Katai held Bastion close.

"Bastion, honey, would you like me to sing to you?" she asked softly. She felt him nod. "What would you like me to sing?"

Bastion thought briefly. "Mummy…could you sing Warabigami?" he asked, referring to a lullaby from Okinawa that she sang when he was very small.

"Of course, my angel," she answered and sang, remembering what the lyrics meant and how thankful she was that she had this miracle child in her arms. For the song spoke of a mother wishing for the wonderful baby she was given by God to have a wonderful life and to grow up healthy and strong. And as Katai sang, she thought of the boy lying in the bed at Domino Children's Hospital, still unconscious and with his grandfather near him. And she prayed in her head for that boy and all in the hospital and around it, that no harm would occur…

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

Back at the hospital, Scout Rhodes headed into Yugi's hospital room as Mai raced out of it. "What in the..?!" she gasped. "Dr. Hammond, what is going on?"

"The man outside is Joey Wheeler's father," Kisara explained quickly. "I think Joey's going to try to stop him and calm him down! Mai's run after him and…I need to go out there!" she said suddenly. "Stay with Yugi, please?"

Scout nodded, and Kisara ran from the room after the teen boy and the young woman. Seto looked at the gang and then knelt at his brother's level. "Mokie, stay here. You have to," he said sharply.

"But, big brother…"

"No buts, Mokie. Please stay here…if something happens, I don't want you to see…not like I did," Seto said in a slightly softer tone, but Mokuba knew that his brother's tone said he would accept no argument. So Mokuba went and sat down next to Rebecca as his brother turned and charged out of the room.

"Seto, be careful," Mokuba whispered.

"He will be," Rebecca answered with certainty as she gently took his hand, squeezing it. Mokuba was surprised at first, but only at first. And then, he squeezed back gently, a move that, in later years, he would consider one of the best things he'd ever done in his life. "Your brother's great, Mokuba and he'll be okay…"

His gray eyes met her blue ones. "Yeah…I just don't want him to get hurt. I hate it when that happens," the boy admitted.

The little blonde girl kept holding his hand. "I hated it when Grandpa was hurt…I mean…"

"He's all I've got," they said at the same time, understanding each other and understanding what Solomon Muto was going through. If Yugi had died, Solomon would be alone, just as Rebecca knew she would be alone without her grandfather, and as Mokuba knew he would be alone without his brother.

Joey, by this time, had raced to the entrance of the hospital to see his dad surrounded by police officers. Jake had his gun in his hand and was clearly in a rage. He was cursing fluently at the crowd and the police officers. "Dad?" Joey called out and Jake froze for a second. The police officers turned and one officer moved to him quickly.

"Sir, you might want to move. He's really angry and we think he's had a lot to drink," the officer, a brown-eyed, dark-haired Latino woman said quickly.

"Please let me try to talk him down. I don't want him to hurt anybody," Joey responded.

"His intent may be to hurt you," the officer countered with concern.

"I don't matter, but all these people do and I ain't lettin' him in there to hurt my mom and sister. That's what he wants to do," the boy answered, more to himself than the police officer. Without a word, the officer let the teen boy move forward. The police officers surrounding Jake Wheeler moved slightly so that Joey was in visual range of his father. "Dad?" the boy called out again. "It's me…come on, you don't want to do this…"

Jake blinked. The man looked at his son and scowled. It was amazing how much father and son looked alike and yet were so very different. Jake, as noted before, was barrel-chested, while Joey was a bit slimmer. Jake had a more square-cut jaw, while Joey had a more delicate chin. Furthermore, it was obvious to all that while Jake Wheeler didn't take care of himself, while it was clear that Joey was well-groomed. And now, the blazing, drunken angry brown eyes met the determined, yet slightly fearful ones. "I'll do what I want, you little piece of XXXX! Now tell these XXXXXXXs to get the XXXX out of my way! I have every right to get in there!" the drunken man shouted angrily.

Joey took a deep breath. "Dad, I can't let you do that…for one thing, you have a gun. And another thing…you've hurt Ma before, and I'm not lettin' it happen again. And I'm sure as heck not lettin' you hurt Ren. Dad, you're going to have to go through me. You want that, Dad? You want to shoot me? I mean, you've already beat me up…there's not much more you can do to me." He took a protective stance, arms out. "I'm not lettin' you in there, Dad. You ain't hurtin' my mom, my sister or any of my friends. You got that?"

Jake growled low in his throat. "Get out of my way now! Don't make me have to shoot you, mutt. That's what you are; a mutt. You're a pathetic little Chihuahua and XXXXs carry you in their purses! You ain't a man! You handed your pants over and now you won't let me take control because they run your life!"

"No…If anyone's not a man, he's standin' right in front of me. I know what real men are, Dad, and they don't hurt people to 'keep them in line.' I don't have to be like you and I don't want to be. Sorry, Dad…but you're going to have to take me out…" Joey wouldn't move.

Jake was surprised at this. The Joey he knew gave up and played dead. Then again, Jake hadn't tried to beat other people up or shoot them while Joey was there. "You son of a XXXXX! GET OUT OF THE XXXXING WAY! AND I'M GETTING OUT OF THIS ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!!" He knew that there were several police officers around and either they wouldn't shoot or they would. And if he did avoid the officers' gunfire and got past his son into the hospital and shot up the room, he wouldn't face charges and go to prison. He would just take his own life, or if the police happened to be good shots, they'd do it for him. And so he brought up his gun. "YOU'VE DISOBEYED ME FOR THE LAST TIME!"

Inside the hospital, just about 50 yards away, Mai came to a stop at the glass doors, followed closely by Seto and Kisara. "Oh, my gosh…He's got a gun pointed at Joey!" the golden blonde girl cried out. "JOEY, GET BACK!" she screeched.

"Are you nuts, Wheeler?!" Seto shouted as well, but in his heart, knowing that if their positions were reversed and it was him, Seto, standing between Mokuba and Gozaburo, he would be doing the same thing. Kisara watched mutely, and quickly grabbed a medical kit, knowing it might be needed soon.

And then Joey shouted at his father, "Dad, DROP IT! PLEASE!" It seemed to happen in slow motion. Jake tripped the hammer on the gun and was about to fire.

And then things sped up. "DROP THE GUN! DROP IT NOW!" the female officer shouted, drawing her own weapon. "DROP IT OR I'LL SHOOT!"

In response, Jake Wheeler shouted, "XXXX yourself, XXXXX!" and moved toward Joey. The boy closed his eyes and heard a single gunshot and then…he heard screams and a body hit the ground with a sickening thud. And then Joey opened his eyes. His father was on the ground, obviously dead. The female officer had fired a single shot to Jake's head and the force of the bullet had blown the back of his skull off, so there was a great deal of blood. The police held back the crowd, but the teenage boy had seen his father's ruined body on the ground.

"Dad," Joey moaned, falling to his knees, shaking and pale. Seto, Kisara and Mai now raced out of the glass doors and to the scene.

"Joey, hon," Mai murmured as Kisara ran to the corpse. The teen doctor knelt, taking a breath to steady herself. Despite her experience in the operating room, the teen girl didn't like blood and gore of this sort. As a formality, she checked the man's pulse, finding none. Death had been immediate, as the bullet had slammed through the sections of the brain that controlled heart and lung functions, as well as making him brain dead. She then took out a white cloth from her bag, respectfully covering the dead man's head.

"Joey…you could've…" Seto stammered, not totally sure what to say.

"I…I'm sorry…Oh, man, I'm sorry!" Joey cried out and then threw up over the ground in his upset state. He emptied out with Mai patting his back, trying to comfort him. And then the tears hit when he was kneeling on the ground. "Mai…he just…"

"I know…Joey, I know," she murmured. "Seto, help me get him out of here."

The teen CEO nodded. "C'mon, Joey…let's get back inside…"

Joey could barely stand and so Seto and Mai both had to lift him and walk him back in. Kisara, finished with her examination of the corpse, talked to the police officers and then headed back in after her three friends. She took Joey into an exam room to check him over as Mai held his hand. "Joey? Talk to me," the doctor said gently as she checked him over. But he wouldn't talk to her. He had a dazed expression on his face and the tears ran down his cheeks. "Okay…Mai, physically he's fine," the doctor explained gently, "but emotionally…"

"Yeah…what can you do for him? Kisara, can you help him?" the older girl asked, looking at her love.

Kisara moved to the door and called for a nurse to bring in a pair of hospital-issue pajamas and get an extra bed into Yugi's room. As Joey laid down on the exam bed in silence, the doctor whispered, "He'll need counseling, and I know he'll need you, Mai, and everyone around him. His dad just died…"

"No…he killed himself," Joey finally spoke out from his position.

"Joey," Mai murmured, moving to his side, "hon, I'm here. What do you mean?"

The teen boy took his beloved's hand, gripping it tightly without hurting her. "He wouldn't be taken alive. I remember this one time…he'd beaten me so bad, he had to call me into school sick for a week…And he said if the cops ever came, he wouldn't be taken alive. That's why he had the gun…He'd either do it himself or m-make it s-so someone w-would…" At this point, he just broke down crying. Mai helped him to a sitting position and cradled him as he cried. Wisely, the doctor gave the reunited couple some privacy.

She stepped out into the hall and moved into a stairwell about 15 yards from the exam room. Kisara knew that this stairwell was quiet at this time of the evening. What she didn't know was that someone else had taken refuge here. "Hey, Kisara," Seto greeted, startling her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you…You okay?" he asked gently.

"Yeah…I've never had to do that," she answered. "I've never had a gunshot wound like that…Joey's father never had a chance with that hit. I…" And then the emotion of the past hour or so hit her. She started to cry. It wasn't loud or demonstrative, but it was enough that Seto somehow knew to put his arms around Kisara to hug her close.

"Shh...Kisara…it's going to be okay…shh," he murmured. He rocked her in his arms and then remembered what he'd seen when he, Yugi, Teá, Tristan, Joey and Bakura had ended up in ancient Egypt. He'd seen his counterpart, Priest Seto, later Pharaoh Seto, holding the past Kisara warmly in his arms and then later, holding her corpse. Now, about 5000 years later, he, Seto James Kaiba, was holding Kisara again and he was comforting her. She rested her head on his chest as she cried and he tenderly rubbed her back. Finally, when she'd pulled herself together, she managed to look up at him, eyes puffy from her tears.

"Seto, I…I'm…"

"Don't apologize…Kisara, you just saw something bad, and…you've never seen something like that before, have you?" he asked softly. "It's okay to have been upset by that. Just let it out. No one expects you to just suck it up and deal. It's okay…"

"Seto," she murmured, and then Seto drew her into a soft, tender kiss. Neither teen had ever been kissed before, and yet, for them, it was perfect. Seto wanted to let her know she was safe and okay with him, and she wanted to be comforted. They stayed in that kiss for…it seemed to them like an eternity, but it wasn't to last that long. They were concentrating so much on making the kiss last that they didn't hear footsteps coming from up above.

"Dr. Hammond, I see you're relaxing," a kind female voice said wryly. The kissing couple broke apart to see a plump, short African-American woman with a page boy style hairdo and with freckles on her cheeks. Her name was Miranda Bailey and she was the chief surgeon at Domino Children's. She had a reputation for being very tough, but also for being very kind.

"Oh, Dr. Bailey," the teen girl exclaimed, blushing, "I'm sorry…"

"Doctor, it was my fault," Seto apologized quickly. "Don't blame Kisara…"

"Mr. Kaiba, Dr. Hammond, it's all right," the surgeon asserted, cutting the teen CEO off. "You need to relax, Dr. Hammond, and I want you to go off-duty after tomorrow, midday. You have been on duty for 30 hours, and that will be over forty hours tomorrow midday. You will take a rest and not come back on duty until you've had at least eight hours of sleep and something more substantial than pizza and Pop-tarts."

"Yes, Dr. Bailey," Kisara answered, relieved that she wasn't in trouble and neither was her new boyfriend. _I actually have a boyfriend,_ she realized with awe. _He wouldn't have kissed me otherwise…_ The chief surgeon stepped out of the stairwell, back onto the ground floor of the hospital, leaving the couple alone again. "You…Seto…"

"Kisara, I know it's crazy, but…well, I think…Kisara, that ancient past…" He was uncharacteristically nervous and verbally falling all over himself. He took a deep breath. "I feel like…we at least need to get to know each other a bit more. You're the first person I've ever wanted to kiss, and…I feel like you're the only one I want to kiss…"

Kisara blushed. "You're the first one I've kissed…And…it felt right. Let's see where things go…" Something told her that he was the one young man she'd been waiting for. He was the one she might just love for the rest of her life. But right now, she had to focus on her patients. "I need to get back to Joey." He nodded and followed her out of the stairwell and back to the exam room.

By this time, Joey was in a set of hospital issue green pajamas and he was still hugging Mai like she was a life preserver. He wasn't wailing, keening or sobbing, but he was resting on her shoulder, tears still running down his face. "Kisara…he won't stop crying. Can you..?" Mai asked.

Kisara moved to them. "Joey…talk to me…talk to us…Please? I know you're upset and you're hurting," she tried.

And then he looked up. "He…he just…he just offed himself. Just like that…He didn't even care…He beat me up, but…he was still my dad, you know?" the blonde teen boy managed to say. "And he…" Joey struggled for control.

Seto, standing outside the door, moved in and said, "Joey…at least you were able to try and stop him."

"Huh?" Joey asked, meeting Seto's blue eyes. "Kai…Seto, what are you talkin' about?"

Seto took a deep breath. "You know about Gozaburo…but you don't know about my real dad. He…drove off the Domino Bay Bridge when I was almost eleven. Mokie was four and Dad couldn't stand it anymore. He said in his letter that he missed Mom too much, and so that day just after I'd started the fifth grade and Mokuba was at preschool…he did it. I had no idea…And I couldn't even try to stop him. I was mad at him, but the truth is, no matter what he'd done, he was still my father and I loved him." The teen CEO's voice shook a bit and it was clear he was fighting the pain. "So…I can't say I totally understand, but I do, sort of…and…if you want to just talk…"

Joey understood when the other teen boy trailed off. "Thanks…Right now…I just…I don't know," he started, looking lost and confused at the same time.

"Are you tired, Joey?" Kisara asked with compassion.

"Yeah…but when I close my eyes, I see it," he moaned. "Kisara…I can't…"

"I can give you a sedative that will make sure you're out in a very short time. You'll go into a dreamless sleep, and you'll sleep for at least 8 hours. Should we do that for you?" the doctor asked gently. Joey nodded. He was exhausted emotionally and physically now, and he needed to sleep.

_Maybe when I wake up,_ he thought, _this'll all have been a nightmare. Yugi'll be okay and Dad won't be… _Again the tears came.

"Okay, Joey, let's get you back to the room and you can rest. You're going to be with Yugi, all right?" she said. Again he nodded. And together the two couples headed down the hall to the elevator and returned to Yugi's room. There were the normal hugs and tears between the remaining members of the Wheeler family and then the boy laid down in the hospital bed next to his best friend's bed. Kisara placed an IV in Joey's right arm and then used the stopper attachment in the line to give him his sedative. He was asleep within seconds, holding Mai and Serenity's hands. Elizabeth brushed her son's forehead softly.

And then, there was a knock at the door of the room. It was a male police officer, along with Roland, Seto's personal security guard. "Dr. Hammond, we have three people with us who would like to see Yugi…Their names are Odion, Ishizu and Marik Ishtar…"

Solomon Muto stood from his position and answered, "Of course. Let them in."

And then, Ishizu, Odion and Marik stepped into the room. "Hello, everyone," Ishizu said. "How is…oh, my," she cut off at the sight of the sleeping Joey, surrounded by the three women who loved him most. "We saw the disturbance, but…what happened?"

Kisara quickly explained, concluding, "Joey had to be sedated. I hope he wakes up about the time Yugi does. Yugi will be okay…Would you like to join us this evening?"

"Of course," the raven-haired Egyptian woman answered for herself and her brothers.

Marik moved hesitantly, not sure what to do with himself. He looked at Mai and said, "Um…Mai…I…I'm sorry for what happened at Battle City. I found out and…"

"Marik, listen, it wasn't your fault, not really. I understand about your dark side, and there's nothing to forgive because…it wasn't you," Mai said, meeting his lavender eyes with her amethyst ones. "I hadn't dealt with some stuff and…I'm dealing with it now. So please, if you're looking for forgiveness, you have it."

Marik nodded, and the Ishtar three sat down in chairs. "So…what can we do now to help?" Odion asked in his gravelly, kind voice.

"Talk to Yugi…let him know he's loved," Kisara said gently. And so began a second long night…

_Wow, quite a long chapter, this. But I can't break this one up. So Joey's dad is dead by suicide by cop and the Ishtars are now here. What will they say to the unconscious King of Games now that they're in the room? And what will they say to Joey as well? And when will Yugi come to? Next time: "Just Talking Part II!" Until then, please read, review and stay tuned! Thanks!_


	10. Just Talking Part II

Chapter X: Just Talking Part II

_Hello again, everyone, happy New Year and welcome back to Whisper. This is probably the quickest update I've done with this tale in some time, so I hope you enjoy it. I'm glad you're sticking with this story even though I've been slow to update. Thanks to all of you who have been reading and reviewing. I know the last chapter was huge and bounced around a bit, and I hope it wasn't too confusing. But anyway, thanks for reading! And to The Rainwalker, I'm guessing that you're from somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, which hasn't had a snowstorm like we had in nearly two decades. I, too, have been clobbered by the snow which has now melted away in my neighborhood mostly, and I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Anyway, on with the story!_

_Last time, the Von Schroeders sent Yugi cards, the crowd around Domino Children's got bigger, and then Joey's dad, angry that his ex-wife and daughter were back and his son was with them came to the hospital with the intent to kill and be killed. Jake Wheeler succeeded in the latter and Joey saw. Both he and Kisara were upset by what happened and found comfort in the arms of Mai and Seto, respectively. The Ishtars arrived after a fast flight from Egypt, and so that is where we continue._

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the YGO franchise. If I did, well, I likely wouldn't be writing here…But I love writing here! **_

Odion, Ishizu and Marik Ishtar had just sat down in their chairs in the hospital room that now housed two unconscious teen boys. "We got here and saw…something," the platinum-blonde teen with lavender eyes muttered. "What happened?"

"Marik, Joey's dad came here and was ready to come in here and…we think he was going to hurt Joey's mom and sister and Joey," Tristan explained softly in anguish for his best friend, repeating some of what Kisara had said. "And either way…he was going to kill himself. And when Joey confronted him…he got mad and the cops opened fire. Joey saw the whole thing. He needed to be knocked out. He's seen a lot…if it wasn't for him, Yuge wouldn't be here."

Odion thought back to when Marik's dark side had killed the Ishtar father after the man had been hurting him, Odion. Marik had been upset for days afterward, unknowing of his role in his own father's death and been plagued with nightmares. But on some level, Odion knew, Marik was glad his father wouldn't be able to hurt his brother anymore. It had been a few years before the younger boy called him "big brother" again because of their father's warping, but when he had, Odion had rejoiced. "Like what happened with us," he murmured finally. "I wouldn't be here, Marik, if…"

Marik hugged his brother tightly. "I know…"

Kisara looked at the Ishtars curiously for a moment before deciding that it wasn't the time to ask. Pegasus looked as well, and sighed. "You've known pain and desperation as well. If you'd like to talk," he offered, "I think we'll all listen." The members of the group nodded in agreement.

Ishizu nodded. "I didn't see Joey's past when I had the Millennium Necklace. Or this future. I saw nothing after my duel with you, Seto. I still don't understand why I didn't see some of the future…"

Kisara thought a moment and answered, "Perhaps you saw an alternate timeline, and the Millennium Necklace showed you what might happen, had you won at Battle City, Ishizu. Oh, forgive me, I haven't introduced myself properly. I'm Kisara Hammond, and I'm one of Yugi's doctors…"

Ishizu and her brothers might be forgiven for having not really paid attention to the white-blonde young woman with all that had occurred, and now the raven-haired woman looked the doctor full in the face. "Kisara…you…what do you know of us?" she managed to ask.

Kisara looked at her. "We had past lives…you were…a priestess, weren't you? You were…a thief, Marik, and Odion…you were…a security man of some sort," she said, eyes wide that she did know this. The three Ishtars looked at each other in surprise at her revelation.

"You remember who we were?" the blue-eyed, dark-haired woman asked.

"I think so," Kisara said. "It wasn't until yesterday I truly began to understand…I thought what I'd seen all my life was a dream, and then, everyone here who saw the ancient past told me what they saw. And I remembered more. And so I remember you…But…Marik, right? You and Bakura were alternate gateways, I think. That's why…things happened the way they did in the present."

Bakura and Marik looked at each other. "I think I understand," Bakura said finally. "Had I perished, Marik, you would have taken my place as Zorc's gateway to enter this world. Your dark side was just the beginning as mine was."

"Yugi saved us both from him…and the Pharaoh saved us, too," Marik murmured. "Yugi never even got mad at me…even though I did terrible things."

"And I as well," Bakura added, feeling sad. "He didn't need to do as he did. We owe him more than our lives for what he's done for us…"

"Yeah…so, we need to talk to him?" Marik asked Kisara. She nodded confirmation. "So…what do we talk about?"

"Anything," she repeated, "that lets him know he's loved and very much wanted in this world. So just say what's on your mind, okay?" Marik nodded.

Odion looked quietly at the gang and then at Joey's still form. "May I…speak to Joey?" he asked. "I owe him. He saved me, and I would like to help him, if you will allow it," he said, meeting Elizabeth and Serenity's eyes.

Serenity looked at her mother, who nodded, which meant, "It's your decision, Serenity." And so Serenity said, "Please help Joey, too. He's going to be really sad when he wakes up…Daddy may have been mean, but he was still our daddy. And Joey tried to take care of him…"

"Just as you did, big brother," Marik sighed. "Odion should've been treated better by our father, but…well, we understand."

And so Odion sat with the Wheelers and Mai, while Marik and Ishizu sat with the rest of the group next to Yugi's bed. "Should I..?" Marik began. "I don't know what to say. Sister, could you go first?" he asked Ishizu.

"Of course," she said gently. The young Egyptian woman took a deep breath and Yugi's hand. "Yugi…I'm here, Odion's here and Marik's here. We came as soon as we heard you were in the hospital. And we're here to let you know that we want you to be all right. I owe you more than just my own life. You saved my family. You saved both of my brothers without considering your own safety. You wanted to save my little brother if you could without dooming him to the shadows or killing him. Even though he'd tried to kill you and your friends, you still wanted to save him. And you were willing to help me, even after it was clear I had deceived you into doing it. You are probably one of the most wonderful people in this world, and you have never turned anyone away who needed help. Let us help you, please. We need you and care for you. And we will help you through this, no matter how long it takes."

And then Marik changed places with his sister. "Yugi…Ishizu said just about all of it. But there's something else. Even after you knew I was hurting your friends, you didn't say you were going to kill me. And you tried everything to save me. You wouldn't kill me to take down my dark side and you didn't care about your own safety. I tried to kill you with those dark energy disks because those also would've cut your legs off and you would've bled to death. I mean, it wouldn't have mattered since you would've been in the Shadow Realm with Pharaoh Atem, but still, I would have sealed any chance for you to return to this world. I would've done something horrible if I'd succeeded in my quest, but not just enslaving the world. I would've also taken a very innocent soul from this world, and I don't think I could've been forgiven for doing that. Yugi, please don't leave…we need you too much. This world needs you…" His lavender eyes became bright at that. The thought that Yugi had tried to leave this world by his own hand was actually painful.

Over at the next bed, Odion took a deep breath. "You tried to save the people you loved, the same as Yugi did, Joey Wheeler, and you tried saving me. You held no anger toward me as you might have. I only wish we had known of what was going on with you then. I know we all would have helped you. I know what it is to have a mother that loves you deeply…You asked if I knew what love was…I remember our mother. She found me above ground and took me as her own. I don't know what happened to my original parents. Perhaps I was abandoned in the desert to die or perhaps they were taken and killed. I don't know. The face I remember is hers. She cared for me, even when…Father did not. But I knew love from her and was shielded from rage and anger, as you were shielded. You are a good and honorable young man, and you must remember that. Whatever happened with your father, it is not your fault and you mustn't blame yourself. I speak from experience. There was nothing I could have done, either."

He took a deep breath, and a tear rolled down his tattooed cheek. Though Odion's adoptive father had treated the boy as a servant and lesser than his blood children, the man Odion became still loved the old man on some level. He was still that young man who not so long ago, had been beaten into unconsciousness, only to wake when his little brother allowed his dark side to take control and kill their father for trying to kill Odion. Odion had vowed to protect his little brother from that dark and evil presence, and had done so for quite a few years until the near-disaster at Battle City. "I protected my family as you protected yours. And now…I would like to help, if you will allow me. I will protect your family too," he stated softly.

"Thank you, Odion," Serenity said gently. "You really are nice. Joey thinks that already. 'If he'd look out for Marik, after all that kid pulled, he can't be bad,' he said. And you aren't…Thank you."

Odion inclined his head gently. "I will help however I can."

"And we will help all of you," Ishizu added from Yugi's bedside. "You all helped us…"

It was now late and Kisara got up and got more blankets. "It may be the summer, but it's cool here in the hospital. And it looks as if you three haven't gotten a decent night's sleep. Just relax, and I'll stay up and look after the patients…"

Ishizu looked at the doctor again. "You really do remember your past?"

Kisara nodded. "I thought it was a dream until yesterday, really…You weren't sure of your past?"

"No…I had…flashes, you might say, of the past, but never anything definite until April when we were in the Valley of the Kings. And then I remembered things about my ancient past," the Egyptian woman explained. "But I am glad that you have had knowledge on your own. So you remember who Yugi was?"

"Yeah…but he had contact with that other self, didn't he?" the doctor asked gently. Ishizu nodded and everyone's eyes went wide.

"You know about that?" Teá gasped.

"I remember you…before I died," Kisara answered. "You went back, didn't you?"

The stunned brunette girl nodded. "We went back to help the Pharaoh stop Zorc. And we did."

"So I did see you…And there were two of them," she said, indicating the unconscious Yugi. "The Pharaoh..."

Ishizu nodded as Teá did. "Then…you know?"

"That's it, isn't it? Why Yugi did this? It was because of the Pharaoh leaving, right?"

The raven-haired woman nodded again. "That's why my brothers and I thought."

Teá sighed. "That was it…he couldn't take losing him. And we didn't see it…Why didn't we see it?" she moaned.

"Teá," Kisara said, "you didn't see because he knew how to hide it from you. People do that to make sure the people that care about them don't worry. He didn't want you to worry, so he made sure you didn't know. Don't blame yourself, please?" The teen doctor moved close and hugged the brown-haired girl gently. "Yugi's going to find his way back, and he'll be okay because he has you…all of you…around him."

Teá sighed. "I hope so, Kisara…I just…I've always thought our friendship could get us through anything, and yet…"

"Teá…" Seto had taken a deep breath and it was obvious that saying what he was going to say cost him. "Look, all this time, I've heard all of your speeches and I think I know why you kept saying them. I needed to hear what you said. We all did, and you're right, you know? Your friends and your family matter, even when you're an idiot who doesn't realize it, like I was and didn't."

Teá's eyes widened. "You mean that?" Seto nodded. "Seto…thank you…"

"No…thanks for not giving up on me…any of you," he answered. "Kisara, how long?"

Kisara looked at Yugi's vitals and smiled. "He's going to wake up in the morning. We'll just let the drugs wear off and let him come around on his own. He'll need all of you when he finally wakes up…But one of you should be in here when he does. Who wants to be the first face he sees?"

The group looked at each other, and Solomon smiled. "Let's let Teá be the one. Honey, he needs you first, okay?"

Teá nodded at Solomon gratefully, and said, "Thank you." And so the gang took their positions around the room to sleep that night, knowing that Yugi would awaken in the morning. But how would they help him through all of this?

_So Yugi is going to wake up…But what's been going on with him since he fell unconscious and was sedated? Next time, "Fallen Angels at My Feet." Credit to Immortal Fallen Angel, Hermione494 and Kazuma450 for helping with the chapter title. So please read, review and stay tuned until next time! Thank you, everyone!_


	11. Fallen Angels At My Feet

Chapter XI: Fallen Angels at My Feet

_Hello again, original Yu-Gi-Oh fans and welcome back to "Whisper." I again hope that you are still enjoying this tale. Thank you, everyone who's been reviewing and reading! And thank you to Immortal Fallen Angel, Hermione494 and Kazuma250 for their help with selecting this chapter's title, which is taken from the lyrics of Evanescence's Whisper. And now, on with the story!_

_We've seen the people around Yugi come to grips with his attempt to kill himself. But what of Yugi himself? What's happened in that place between life and death where he's hovered all this time? Read on, everyone to find out._

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise or Evanescence's Whisper. I'm just borrowing stuff. I also don't exclusively own the imagery Yugi sees after Joey's dad dies. That's from the 1990 movie, "Ghost." That was just freaky. I hope no one minds that I used the imagery.**_

_**Warning: Descriptions from what happened with Yugi might be a bit painful to read and just a touch bloody. Also, mentions of non-consensual intimacy. Thanks for your attention.**_

_Author's note: This part of the story goes back to Yugi's suicide attempt._

_Two days earlier—_ Yugi shut the bathroom door but didn't lock it, knowing that his grandpa wouldn't be able to unlock the door without breaking it down. _He doesn't need to pay for another door. He doesn't need to pay any more for me._ Yugi felt guilty that his grandfather had to take care of him and work too hard when the old man should be retired and enjoying the good life. _After this, he can be free too. He won't have to watch me drift away and be sad._ The razor blade Yugi had taken from his locked desk drawer felt cold in his hand, and the young man knew it would hurt when he did what he was about to do. _But it won't hurt as much as I've hurt all of them._ This wasn't true, of course, but in Yugi's present state of mind, he felt he'd hurt everyone in his life and therefore deserved death.

And now, Yugi held the razor over his left wrist. "I'm sorry," he whispered to his friends, his grandfather, to God, to no one. All he knew was that in the silence, he needed to apologize. Joey'd just left the game shop to head home, little knowing that the goodbye they'd had was for all time. And then, Yugi laid the blade on his wrist, slicing along the vein, releasing his blood. Before he could lose consciousness, he did the same with his right wrist. And then, as he fell backward, the room spinning and a copper scent filling the air, he heard his best friend in this world calling for him. And then, all was darkness. For a second, he could vaguely hear screaming, but then…nothing.

He came to sometime later in a gray place. "I did it…I'm dead," he said softly, looking around that gray place. "Where am I? This doesn't look like Heaven or Hell," he again spoke to himself. "But I'm alone here…"

"No, you're not, Yugi. You're never alone…" The boy lifted his head in shock as he heard a voice he hadn't heard since April, and then he saw the figure clad in the garb of an Egyptian Pharaoh walk toward him. "Hello, young one," Atem, the King of Egypt said gently.

"Atem!" Yugi cried out, running into the Pharaoh's arms. He felt the warm tanned arms around him as he sobbed. "Big brother," he whimpered.

"Shh, Yugi…It's all right," the Pharaoh murmured, knowing Yugi needed this comfort. He knew what had happened but chose to ask the boy what had happened anyway. "I'm here…but how did you end up here? You're too young…"

Yugi finally managed to get control and looked up into the eyes that were so like his, but perhaps a little more steely. "Pharaoh…Atem…I just killed myself. I was so sad without you, I couldn't stand it anymore." He felt the ancient ruler tighten his grip on him. "Please don't be mad at me…"

"Yugi…how could I be mad at you?" Atem asked, trying to brush away the boy's tears, with some sadness in his own eyes. "I have looked in on you…but why didn't you tell our friends you were hurting so badly? They would've helped you…"

"I didn't want them worrying…They've worried about me enough…And I've caused them enough hurt. At least this way, it's over…"

"Sweetie, you're not dead," said a voice that Yugi hadn't heard in about 15 years. And when the boy looked up, he saw his mother and father, young and happy and unharmed. "Yugi, honey," Abby Muto greeted lovingly as her son raced into her arms. In life as here, she had red hair and kind brown eyes. "Sweetie…oh, what a big, sweet boy you became."

David Muto too joined in the hug. He oddly looked like the Pharaoh, with the same eyes and hair, leaving no doubt that Yugi's hair was hereditary, not the result of hair gel. "Yugi…my big boy…You make us proud every day. Just remember that Grandpa needs you, your friends need you, and…your sister needs you…"

Yugi was stunned enough that his mother and father were hugging him and loving him, but… "My sister? But you guys didn't…did you?" he asked in disbelief.

David looked at Abby. "Yugi, you have a half-sister. You know her already. And she's right there with you. She's had trouble, but she's coming out of it…"

Yugi realized. "It's Mai, isn't it? Mai's my sister. But Dad, doesn't that mean..?" Was his father admitting to infidelity?

David read his son's expression. "It wasn't that way…Her mother drugged me at a hotel bar in New York. She was a model then, and her husband wanted her to get pregnant, but he wasn't interested in her. So I guess I caught her interest. Yugi, are you sure you want to hear this?" he asked, knowing his son was horrified.

But Yugi surprised him. "Dad, I have to know the truth. You wouldn't have cheated on Mom, so I need to know…"

And so David told his youngest child how Mai's mother had apparently drugged him, and had forced herself on him. He'd awakened the next morning in his room, and found a letter from that woman. He'd gone home and told his then-fiancée what had happened, and she'd understood that he hadn't betrayed her. About nine months or so later, David and Abby Muto had been watching TV when he saw his rapist on TV holding a tiny girl with big amethyst eyes. It had shaken him, but he knew he would have no chance in court to get custody or justice. It was his word against hers, and she was very rich. He and Abby could only pray for that precious little girl that she'd be safe and loved.

"We prayed for her, and then we had you, Yugi. We hoped someday that you'd meet your sister, but we hoped we'd be there too," Abby said, keeping her son in an angelic hug. "But then…the accident happened. And you lived with Grandpa after that. We've been watching and we were so glad when you two found each other…"

And then Yugi's expression changed from one of sadness to one of joy…to one of disgust. "Oh, no…No, no, no…oh, that is so gross…"

"Yugi? Kiddo, what is it?" David asked curiously.

"Dad…I had dirty thoughts…about my sister," the teen boy said in horror. "I mean…I didn't know she was my sister, but…oh, that is so wrong! It was back when I was going to Duelist Kingdom…" It could've been a minute or a millennium, but Yugi sat with the people who cared about him the most and told them about what had happened in the past few years, taking the time. And when he finished, he realized something. "I haven't gone back yet. If I'm not dead, why am I here?" He looked around and noticed the area he was in had gone from gray and featureless to something that looked like the hall of a really nice house. It had warm walls and several doors. "And…what's going on?"

Atem moved close to the boy. "We're going to show you what's going on down there, aibou… You need to know just how much you have changed people. You probably don't even realize just how much you've done and that you did and will have help to get through all of this." They went through one of the wood doors into what looked like an entertainment room, complete with a huge flat-panel television and several overstuffed easy chairs. Yugi sat down while his parents got close to him and Atem got the TV on. He sat down with them as an image of Yugi being raced into emergency surgery came into sight.

"That's…that's me!" Yugi yelped. He saw himself on the operating table and then his grandfather in the waiting room. "Grandpa…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…" Then… "They came…" All of Yugi's closest friends were in the waiting room by his grandpa's side, consoling him.

The four watched for a bit longer, Yugi exclaiming happily when he saw Mai and Joey's reunion. And then, he saw the white-blonde girl. "That's that girl! The one that held the Blue Eyes!"

"Right, Yugi. Her name is Kisara in this lifetime too," Atem explained, "and I think she and Seto may be right for each other in the present day. They were…cheated last time." The ancient Pharaoh's eyes became sad. "My cousin should've had the great love of his life, but she died trying to protect him from his own father…I didn't even know I had a cousin. Father never told me. But Seto and Kisara belonged together. And had she lived…had we all survived, Seto would have been able to marry her. I would have proclaimed her a princess. But…perhaps in this lifetime, they will be happy…"

"I think so, Pharaoh," Yugi answered gently, smiling. "He deserves it after all he's gone through this lifetime. Hey, that's Pegasus…he's here…" Pegasus had just entered the hospital room. And then… "Joey's mom and Serenity! But it's so late…"

"Sweetie…look at all these people in your room. They care about you, honey," Abby explained. "All of them do. And you saved Max Pegasus from himself. He didn't know he needed saving, baby, but he realized it and he is there for you now…" They watched for a while longer and then they heard Kisara's song to a frightened Mokuba. "She's good with him…Yugi, I remember singing to you…"

"I remember, Mom…You sang to me about the bunnies," the boy answered.

"Uh…the bunnies?" Atem asked, remembering his young partner asking Tea to read "the story about the bunny," and now understanding why. "You had a book? And a song about them?"

"Yeah…Mom sang the bunny song after she read my bunny book," Yugi explained. "Kisara sings really pretty. That song…I've heard it before…" And then he was shocked. "Seto knows the song?! Okay…he has really been holding out on us!"

"He's just been…unable to trust," David explained calmly. "His adoptive father…went down for what he did."

"Down?" Yugi asked, his eyes wide, understanding. "So he was that bad…"

"Yes, he was, son," David answered as Rebecca Hawkins came tearing into the room. "Oh, dear…" And then came the explosion between the small girl and Teá. "Yugi, have you noticed that stuff?" Yugi could only nod dumbly as the young woman he loved raced out of the room and to the hospital chapel.

"She…loves me. And not just as a friend!" Yugi realized at long last. "I thought…"

"Aibou, I knew…She loved you all along. If there were any feelings for me," Atem said thoughtfully, "it was because she saw in me the man that you have become. I know I told you how she was when you were away. She loves you and only you. It has always been that way. That she could accept you as you were, that she had it within herself to accept and love us both, tells me that she is very special. Don't push away her gift. Yugi, it is very rare to find a young woman like Teá. When you get back, tell her how you feel, though I think she knows."

"I will, Atem," Yugi promised. The group continued to watch as the June day went on and became night. "I'm glad Teá and Rebecca made up. And…I'm glad Rebecca knows the truth now. I just didn't want to hurt her feelings…But…" The teen boy didn't finish his thought because something else was happening. "What's going on out there?" he asked as the view onscreen changed outside the hospital. "Oh, my gosh…That's Joey's dad?!" The teen boy had known of his best friend's father, but had never actually seen him. And yet, Yugi could recognize the man too well. "He…He looks bad…" The boy meant that to describe Jacob Wheeler's outer state as well as his inner state. "Why?" he muttered. Yugi wondered why Joey'd never let him meet his father and now wondered why the man looked so angry and malevolent.

"Joey never wanted you to know what he lived with, or the abuse he's endured," David explained gently. When Yugi started at this, his father took a deep breath. "Yugi, you know that Joey tries to protect you from things. This was one of those times…"

"But why wouldn't he tell me after all we've been through?"

"Especially after all you've been through together," Abby answered softly, hugging her child to her. "Joey's lived with this since after his mother and sister left Domino. They did it to escape Jake Wheeler's drunken abuse, angel." And so she told her son of just how mean Joey's father was and how, if Elizabeth had taken both her children on that fateful day, it might have led to a triple homicide and a suicide.

"So…he would've killed them all just for leaving?" Yugi asked, feeling sick and disgusted at the evil he was hearing. "That's terrible. How could he do that?"

"For the same reason he's trying to get into the hospital and to Joey now," Atem explained, aching for the boy who, besides Yugi, had been his closest friend in the present day. "Men like him, if they can call themselves men, want power and control at any cost, even if it means they take innocent lives. And right now, Joey's father feels that he can regain control by getting in that room and killing his ex-wife and children. And then he will turn the gun on himself."

"Can't we do anything?" Yugi asked, pleadingly. He didn't want to see the people he cared about hurt or killed, especially when he couldn't be there. "I'm so stupid…"

"Yugi, it won't turn out the way that you think," David soothed. "Jacob Wheeler will not survive this encounter."

"But…No!" Yugi yelped. "Joey's dad can't..!" No matter how bad Joey's dad was, Yugi didn't want his best friend to lose his father. "No matter how bad he is…he needs a chance to make up!"

"Yugi, Jacob had many chances to make up for what he did. Even now, he would have a chance to redeem himself. But he has made a choice that will lead to his death. He will not let go of that gun," Atem sighed. "And he will face his Maker in a short time…" The four watched the situation unfold and Joey run out to try valiantly to stop his father.

Yugi's eyes widened in horror at just how hellish the older man looked. "It's like looking through a mirror. And in that world, Joey's evil and he has been for years," he murmured, shivering at the image of the very angry man. "That's why Joey didn't want me to know…He was worried…" They watched the whole confrontation and Joey trying to talk his father down. And then the horrible moment when it ended… "Joey," Yugi moaned, agonized. He could see his best friend on all fours as Seto and Mai got to him and Kisara checked the corpse. "There's nothing…WHAT'S THAT?!"

"That" was Jacob Wheeler's spirit standing to the side of the scene. He looked puzzled, seeing his dead form. And then, out of the shadows of trees and light posts, strange inhuman figures came. Atem, David and Abby drew close to the teen boy, knowing what was coming. The inhuman figures surrounded Jacob's spirit and grabbed onto him. He began screaming as they started to drag him. They dragged him down, and with a final horrifying shriek, he was gone.

"Wh-where…where did he go?" Yugi asked, shivering. "What were those things?"

David took a deep breath. "Yugi…what you just saw is what happens when a person does evil in the living world and doesn't change his ways and doesn't repent. Those…were demons, kiddo. And those demons dragged him down…" He didn't say where they'd gone; he didn't have to. Yugi hugged his father, trembling.

"So…he…he went to…" Yugi wasn't able to say it. His parents and Atem nodded sadly. "Oh no…I know he did bad things…but…was he sorry?"

Abby sighed. "I don't think he saw his actions as wrong, honey…He was so full of anger and the desire for power and control that he willingly lost his sense of right and wrong. And so, you see what happened, Yugi."

"Mom…" Yugi hugged his mother now and then watched as… "Oh, my gosh! Seto and Kisara are…Wow! He does like her, and she likes him!" The boy had a huge grin on his face. "All right!" And then, he watched as Joey took his sedative and fell asleep.

"Yugi, that's what's been going on," Atem said gently. "Can you see all of the people who love and care for you in the living world? And look there," he added, pointing as the scene changed from Yugi's hospital room to the outside of the hospital and to Kaibaland Domino and Kaibaland Anaheim. There were hundreds of people at each place, including some faces that looked familiar to the small King of Games. Each of the people at the locations were holding up candles in a vigil for the young man they admired, hoping and praying that he would be okay and wake up loving himself again and knowing that he was loved.

"They're holding a candlelight vigil for me?" the boy asked, stunned. "Why? I mean…I tried to kill myself…I wasn't hurt on accident, so I don't deserve this…"

"Kiddo, you're a hero to them and they know you need them now. Look at those crowds. How many in those crowds may know that they owe you their lives and maybe a little more than that?" David asked his son. "Yugi David Muto, you couldn't have possibly known just how much of an impact you've made on the world. People don't think about that when they do what you did, son. They think some people will miss them when they're gone, but they don't think their lives had much value. Or they think that somehow people will be better without them. Yugi, it's not true. The people they leave won't be better off; in fact, they'll spend the rest of their lives wondering if they missed signs or if they didn't do something that might've saved the dead person's life."

"Honey, your father is right. And now the thing you need to do is go back and tell them everything you've felt, how you feel now, and how you feel about all of them. It's going to be hard, but we are right there with you," Abby smiled.

"I haven't left you, either, aibou," Atem added gently. "We are all here for you, even if you can't see or hear us. Our love is right with you." He got up and turned off the TV and then they all stood. Yugi was enfolded in his parents' arms and Atem's too, feeling their love through his being. And it was in that moment that he knew he could face anything.

"I…have to go back now, don't I?" he asked them. "I need to go back. And I need to say I'm sorry to everybody…But I…" He wasn't sure how to say what he wanted to say to his mother, his father, his soul brother. "I need to tell you…"

Atem looked at David and Abby, who let go of the hug and allowed the ancient ruler to enfold Yugi alone. "We know, Yugi. You love us and don't want to go back, in some ways. But we want you to go back and be the man that you are meant to be. The best way to love us is to live. Live, Yugi…Live every day and remember that we're with you. We're here," he said, pointing to his head, and then to his heart, "and here."

Yugi nodded, unable to keep away the tears. But somehow he felt better. He released from Atem, and walked with the three people that had loved him on Earth and would always love him and be with him. 'I'm going to be okay,' the young man told himself as they headed out of the room and into the hall again. They walked down the hall to a doorway painted in white.

"Honey, we can't go with you through this door," Abby said as they approached. "Only those who belong in the living world can go back through this door. When you go back, you won't wake up right away. But when you do, sweetheart, you will find yourself surrounded by people who love you and will help you get better."

"I know, Mom. I know that now..."

"And you won't forget it and try this again, Yugi?" David asked his son.

Yugi shook his head. "No, Dad…I'll be all right." And then, he met Atem's eyes. "I guess…I didn't quite have a pharaoh's courage."

Atem moved close and hugged his protégé, his spirit buddy, his partner, his brother. "Yes, you do, little one. Sometimes, the toughest thing for a leader to admit is that maybe he did something wrong. Do you think you did something wrong the other day?"

"Y-yeah…And I'm glad I'm going back. I just wish…" Yugi couldn't speak for a long moment, held in that hug.

"I know…But Yugi…I am always there with you, even if you cannot hear me like before. You see me every day… You see me in yourself."

Yugi said his last goodbyes to all of them, and stepped through the doorway. For a moment, he was bathed in bright light and then it faded. He could feel himself returning to his body, and could feel the mattress and sheets beneath and around him. He could hear soft voices, a hand brushing his bangs and then footsteps. But he couldn't move any part of himself yet. Sometime later, he felt a soft, familiar hand clasp his right hand. His hand felt like it was half-asleep, and yet he could still feel that familiar slim hand in his. And so he remained in that state, until what seemed like an eternity later, when he suddenly moved his fingers around the hand that clasped his…

_Yes, everyone, the moment has arrived. Yugi is finally going to wake up. So what will happen when he does? Next time, we'll see in "Dawn." Please read, review and stay tuned! Thank you!_


	12. Dawn

Chapter XII: Dawn

_Well, hello again, Whisper fans. I'm sorry for the delay, but I hope this chapter is worth the wait. Thank you so much for all of the reviews and for reading. So last time, we found out what happened to Yugi after he passed out from blood loss. He found out that he had a sister and that his family and his soul brother were watching out for him. He knew he had to return to the living world and be with his living friends and family. So what will happen next? Just read on, and I'll show you!_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise. I do, however, own this story and my interpretations of the characters.**_

It was 5:30 AM when Kisara looked up at the monitors indicating Yugi's vital signs. "Good boy," she whispered. "You're coming out of it. Just take your time, Yugi; it's okay. Nobody's left you. You're loved and you're safe, and they're not going to leave you…" She watched the monitors for a few more minutes and then woke everyone.

Solomon Muto met the young doctor's eyes. "He's coming out of it…what do we do?" Several faces turned to Kisara, the same question in their eyes.

"We're going to let Teá be alone with him. Liz, Serenity, Mai, I'm going to draw the curtain around Joey's bed so you three can stay with him. The rest of you can step out and wait in the waiting room across the hall. I'll just stay in here quietly, to make sure he wakes up okay, all right?" Kisara explained gently. Everyone nodded.

Solomon moved to Yugi and murmured, "My sweet boy… you're going to be all right. I'll be in here in a little bit." He reached out and brushed an errant bang from Yugi's sleeping face. "I love you, Yugi…" And with that he stepped out with the rest of the gang, while Elizabeth, Mai and Serenity sat at Joey's bedside, the curtain drawn around them.

"Mr. Muto, he'll be all right," Max said as the group headed to the waiting room. "Yugi-boy is so strong. I underestimated him when we first met. But I couldn't, especially after Duelist Kingdom. He fought so hard, and he'll fight through this…"

Rebecca looked at the room. "You can do it, Yugi… You have Teá to help you… And us too…"

Arthur Hawkins put his hands on his granddaughter's shoulders as they walked. "It'll be all right, darling… And you can tell him what you must when he's awake and ready…" The little girl nodded, with a determined look. In her blue eyes, there was something that hadn't been there before. She had made a transition from obsessed little girl to young woman in that vigil beside Yugi's bed and in making peace with Teá. She knew things would be different now, and maybe just a little bit better.

Mokuba moved close to her and took her hand. He had a feeling that she needed something, but wasn't sure what to say. So he gently took her hand. She turned, shocked at first at the touch, but then caught the raven-haired boy's eyes. He was being as sympathetic as he knew how to be. "It's okay," he murmured. "I can help you too…" She was unable to speak, choosing to nod gratefully. And underneath the gratitude was a feeling Rebecca couldn't quite pin down. It was like what she'd felt for Yugi, but it wasn't an all-consuming fire; it was instead like sitting next to a campfire, pleasant and comforting. And so she squeezed his hand in response.

Back in the hospital room, Kisara sat in a chair outside of Yugi's field of vision, so when he woke up, he wasn't startled by a stranger, looking over him. "Teá, just be reassuring when he comes around. Let him know you're here and you're not going anywhere…"

"Oh, I'm not… Kisara… There was some place I was thinking of going, but… I know what I want now. Yugi… I have to be here for you," the brown-haired girl murmured. "I'm not leaving…" She now knew where she wanted and needed to be. And now she sat, reassuring Yugi's unconscious form, hoping he heard her.

It was about an hour after this that Teá felt Yugi's soft hand clasp around hers. "He's coming out of it," Kisara murmured. "Just talk him through it, okay? Be gentle and tell him what's in your heart."

The brunette dancer nodded at the white-blonde doctor, and took a deep breath. "Yugi… please come back to me. I'm not leaving you. I can't. I know you're upset, and we all know how much you miss the Pharaoh. I also know that you probably thought… Well, anyway… You're the one I love. I don't know if you remember Duelist Kingdom, when I really realized there were two of you in there… But I promised myself that day when I told you that you were both great guys that I would accept and love you both. And when you were gone…" Here Teá struggled and swallowed. "When you were gone, and it was just him, I felt like part of me was gone. We've always been friends, and if you want to, we can be more than that, Yugi. And no matter what, I'll stay with you through this and we'll support each other…"

And then, Yugi's violet eyes slowly opened. "T-Teá," he managed to say weakly, "where am I?"

The brunette's eyes widened and the tears that had been fighting to come finally fell. "Yu-Yugi… you've been unconscious for almost two days. I was so scared," she whimpered. "We all were… Do…do you remember what happened?"

Yugi nodded. "I… Teá, I thought you guys would all be better off if I…went away. But…you guys weren't, were you?" he asked thoughtfully.

Teá shook her head. "We all stayed. You…oh, Yugi… we want you here and we love having you here."

Yugi took a deep breath. "I heard you…and I saw you… All of you… Is Pegasus really here? And the Ishtars?" She nodded, confirming it. "So… is Joey in here?" he asked softly, trying to lift his head. Teá nodded again.

"Yugi…he'll be all…wait, how did you know?!" she gasped.

"I was watching," he explained and told her some of what he'd seen. "Teá, Atem said that for you to… accept and love us both," he began slowly, making sure he remembered all that his friend had told him, "was a very special thing and that I shouldn't let you go. But I don't want you to be unhappy with me. And I don't want you staying with me if you don't want to. I want you to follow your dreams and be happy."

"Yugi," Teá said gently, "I've been doing a lot of thinking about us ever since Egypt. Before that, I was thinking, really. And I asked myself, 'what do I really want? Do I really want to leave my friends? Do I want to leave Yugi? Can I make things happen staying here?' And... I realized I want to stay here… I need to be here. So, no matter what this says, I'm okay," she concluded, holding up a white envelope from the Julliard School in New York. "Should I open it?"

Yugi nodded. "Teá, you aren't giving this up for me, are you?"

"No. I've just changed what I wanted, Yugi…" She pulled open the envelope and read the communication. "'Dear Ms. Gardner, we are pleased to welcome you to the Julliard Dance program for the fall semester of 2006. You are among the most elite of dance students and…' I'm not going," she smiled. It was a strange sort of freedom, but it felt right. "Yugi… I may not go to Julliard, but there are dance schools around here that I can go to and still get the right training. But my future…wherever I go, has to have you in it. I don't know what'll happen with us, but Yugi, right now, I need to be here if you'll let me be…"

Yugi tried to push himself, but couldn't do it. "My hands feel funny," he groaned softly as he sank into the pillows.

"Kisara?" Teá called, concerned. "He said…"

"I heard him… Yugi, I'm Dr. Hammond. You can call me Kisara," the doctor said as she came over to the bed. "Let me check your hands, all right?"

"Okay, Kisara," he answered. He looked at her curiously as she checked his hands. "Why do they feel so funny?"

Kisara met his eyes. "The way you cut did some damage to the nerves and tendons in your arms and hands. Dr. Rhodes… she's the one that did the surgery on you to repair the damage… Dr. Rhodes said that the damage was minimal and that any numbness should go away." She gently explained where Yugi had cut himself would heal but it would take time before he regained reasonable if not full function in them again. "You're a very lucky young man, Yugi Muto," she concluded.

He looked at Teá with a knowing smile. "I know I'm lucky. And… I won't try again. I can't do it." And then his expression changed to one of sadness and contrition. "Teá, I'm so sorry I messed up like that…"

"Shh…" She bent down and kissed him softly on the lips for a long moment.

_She's kissing me,_ he thought almost in disbelief. _Teá is kissing me, and she means it!_ This wasn't a kiss between friends, he realized with wonder. _She _does _love me! And as more than a friend! Why was I so dumb?_

"Don't torture yourself… Nobody's mad at you," the brunette murmured when they broke apart. "We're all here, and we know you were hurting. You have us…and nobody's leaving you. We're all going to help you while you get better. And when you're better physically, we'll still be here. Like we always have been. Even Kisara's with us…"

Yugi gazed at the doctor with the white-blonde hair and big blue eyes. "Kisara? Um…" He wasn't sure how to ask her about her ancient past without sounding crazy, but fortunately she smiled.

"I already know what you're going to ask, Yugi, and yes, I remember who I was and am. It's all right. I don't think you're nuts. And… what Teá said. We'll all help you get better in your body and in your head and heart. Okay?" the doctor said gently. Yugi nodded, stunned. And then with assistance from Teá and Kisara, he sat up and looked over at the curtain around Joey's bed.

"When can I..?"

"He'll be up in a little bit, Yugi. We'll have Dr. Rhodes double-check your arms, and then Joey should be up pretty soon. He had a very rough night last night…" Kisara's eyes were sad, remembering the horror of what she'd seen last night.

"You saw it too, didn't you, Kisara?" he asked. She nodded. He sighed again. "Joey never told me or Teá how bad his dad was. I wish he had. Grandpa would've let him stay with us…"

"Yugi, for whatever reason, Joey didn't tell you. Tristan knew, but Joey made him promise not to tell. He didn't want you to know he was hurting. A lot of kids like Joey never let on that someone's hurting them out of fear or wanting to protect the family they have left. So as soon as we let you out of bed, you can talk to him, even if he's not awake yet," Kisara said kindly.

"Okay," Yugi answered. "I want him to feel better… He's helped me…"

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

Joey Wheeler couldn't quite make out the voices around him. The last thing he was aware of was of a coolness flowing through his veins. And he saw the faces of the three women he loved most around him as he fell into a dark place. He could hear familiar warm voices in that place, and then for a time heard nothing at all. This dark place was safe and wonderful, and he saw nothing there. He thought of nothing but that dark place, and then as time went by, he saw the dark place grow light. He started hearing soft voices again. A few of those voices were male, while others were female. He let his mind drift toward the light and the voices.

"Joey… hon, we're right here," Mai's voice said lovingly. "Everything's going to be okay…"

"Joey…come on back… It's all right, honey," his mother's voice called gently. "No one will hurt you again, angel…"

"Big brother, it's going to be okay… We're staying with you… We're going to live with you…"

_Serenity? Living with me? And Ma too? Am I dreamin'?_ Joey wondered as he felt a soft but familiar hand in his. He squeezed it, and was rewarded with a gasp.

"Kisara, I felt..!" Mai's voice exclaimed softly.

"I noticed," the doctor's voice murmured. There was the sound of a few light footsteps and then a hand on his wrist. "Joey, try to open your eyes," Kisara's voice said again. "You're going to be all right…"

It felt like an eternity, but Joey managed to get his eyes open in a few seconds. He blinked a couple of times to bring his eyes into focus, and the first face he saw was that of an angel's. "Mai?" he asked softly. "Where…wha--?"

"Hon, it's going to be okay," she murmured. Her hair was disheveled from the long night, but somehow in Joey's eyes, Mai Valentine had never looked more beautiful. He managed to sit up and hug her first.

"Yeah… For both of us," he murmured back. "I need you here with me… Please stop runnin', Mai…"

"I said I wouldn't run anymore… I want to stay here. Let's start over," she murmured.

"Nah… We're gonna continue. Yeah, we had trouble, but we gotta work through it," he soothed. "I don't want to forget anything about us. Even the bad parts. Know why?" he asked as everything around them seemed to disappear. Yet again, it was as if he and Mai were the only two people in the room. True, she had done bad things, but to Joey, it didn't matter.

"Why?" she asked softly.

"Because I love you… I'm crazy about you, and I want you in my life… All of you, and that means your imperfections. Let me in, Mai… please?" he asked gently, giving her a soft, tender kiss. When they broke apart, she nodded gently.

"Joey," Serenity said when he saw her and Elizabeth, "we're here. Did you hear what I said?"

"You want us to live together? Ma?" he asked.

Elizabeth nodded. "Sweetie, I'm going to find a job here. You may be 18, but you still need someone to watch out for you. I know I should've…"

Joey cut her off in a very gentle voice. "Ma, remember what we talked about when Ren was in surgery a few months ago? You told me why you had to leave and I told you that I knew why and that I wasn't mad. How could I be? You got Ren away from Dad and he kept hittin' you. He would've moved on to Ren, eventually, and… he just…" The grief overcame him again and he started to cry. Mai kept her hold on him, Serenity and Elizabeth joined in, and then another pair of arms joined.

"Joey…" The blonde boy's head flew up from his girlfriend's shoulder to see his best friend hugging him too.

"Yuge?" Joey asked in disbelief. "Yuge, are you really okay? When did you wake up?"

Yugi looked up at his best friend as the girls moved away. "I woke up about half an hour ago. Joey… I messed up big. But… you saved me. Thank you…" The small teen hugged Joey just a little bit tighter. "I'm sorry your dad hurt you so much and that I couldn't help you…"

Joey took a deep breath. "I didn't want you knowin', Yugi. You didn't need to know about my dad. I didn't want him comin' after anybody if he got mad 'cause I told."

Yugi just hugged him tightly. 'He helped me feel better. And I'll help him too… Atem, I'm going to be okay…' And in his thoughts, the King of Games thought he heard the ancient Pharaoh, his friend, his brother, agree.

Indeed, in a far-off place that Yugi had briefly visited, but not been able to stay at, Atem was smiling down at his soul brother. "You are going to be all right, Yugi…but you have a journey yet before it is…"

_So Yugi is awake and so is Joey. The healing for the King of Games is about to begin and it may not be easy. So next time, please join us for "Catharsis and Cure." So until next time, please, as always, read, review and stay tuned. Thank you very much! _


	13. Catharsis and Cure

Chapter XIII: Catharsis and Cure

_Greetings, fans of classic Yu-Gi-Oh! Yes, I managed to update in under a month this time. Thank you so much for all of your reviews and for continuing to read this story. And a note for those of you who have been following another story, "Darkness Falls," it is now rated M and my co-author, 15animefreak15 and I hope you'll stay with us in that tale. So, on with this story!_

_Last time, Yugi finally woke up from his slumber and found that Teá loved him and wanted to stay with him. Joey also woke up after his sedated slumber to find that his mother, sister and girlfriend were around him. And then the two young men realized together that they just might be okay. So what will happen next? Don't change the page and read on!_

_**Disclaimer: Peach doesn't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, either the sub or the dub. She just likes to play in the universe.**_

_Author's note: This is a chapter where I have definitely combined elements of the sub and the dub. I've taken some artistic license in combining the two versions of the story, and I do hope you like the final result. I also based Alister's life story on true-to-life events, specifically the war in the former Yugoslavia. Thank you for your attention, and again I hope you don't mind my own version of the Yugi-verse._

"So…how long am I here?" Yugi Muto asked Kisara a few hours after he woke up.

"Well, Yugi, we'd like to be sure you're healing okay, and that you aren't going to try what you tried again. That means you're going to stay here a couple of weeks at least. We'll have you in counseling and in physical therapy as soon as your hands have healed enough," the white-blonde doctor explained.

"So… Yugi's going to be okay?" Tristan asked.

"He is," Kisara answered, nodding. "None of you will leave him through this, will you?"

Heads around the room nodded in mutual agreement. "Yugi?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah, Rebecca?" Yugi responded as the preteen girl made her way to his bedside. "What is it?"

"I… I wanted to apologize," she began. "I said you were my boyfriend without asking if you wanted to be. That wasn't very smart, and I didn't think about you and Teá being… well, more than friends. So, I'm really sorry about making you feel uncomfortable," she finished, a light rose color coming to her cheeks. "Are we friends?"

Yugi took her hand. "Yeah, we are. Rebecca, we're friends, even if I didn't feel the way about you that you felt about me. That's why I gave you The Ties of Friendship. I wanted you to know you were and would always be my friend. You're going to find somebody someday and that person's going to think you're great!"

"Thanks, Yugi," the girl said, smiling.

Next it was Max's turn. "Yugi-boy," the Industrial Illusions CEO said, "welcome back. The world wouldn't be the same without you. We all owe you our lives…"

"I just did what I needed to do," Yugi answered, flushing a bit. "And Atem did more than I did…"

"Yugi-boy," Max countered, trading places with Rebecca and sitting down in a chair right next to the bed, "I have to disagree with that. He needed you as much as you needed him. He couldn't have stopped me from what I nearly did all by himself. And you couldn't have stopped me alone, either. And all you went through together. You were together in all of it. He protected you, yes, but you protected him as well. You were friends and brothers and you helped him a lot. You fought equally and you did well. You saved the world, too… Don't sell yourself short."

Yugi was quiet for a minute. "I guess I didn't think about it that way. Sometimes, I felt like he was protecting me more than I protected him. And I felt like everything bad that happened to you guys was my fault. If you hadn't met me, then you all wouldn't have…"

"Yugi, without you, I would've gone blind," Serenity said, "and I probably never would've seen Joey again with my own eyes."

"And Joey and I would've been bullies," Tristan added.

"No, Tristan… man, I would've been dead!" Joey countered from his bed. "It would've been my dad or Hirutani and his gang."

"And… I probably would never have faced Gozaburo like I ended up facing him," Seto explained. "Yugi…" He seemed to be struggling internally with what to say next. "Yugi…all that time we dueled, and I know it was both of you I was dueling… In my mind, I was fighting Gozaburo. All that time, I was fighting that demon in my head, trying to show that I was worth something. I've realized that I nearly became him. And… thanks to you, I didn't. You also made sure Mokuba didn't lose me completely. You didn't give up on me, even when I think everybody else would've. For whatever reason, Yugi, you were meant to put that puzzle together and meet the Pharaoh. And you were the right person to hold the Millennium Puzzle. It had to be held by someone with a kind heart. And you definitely have a kind heart, Yugi."

Yugi regarded his former adversary and now close friend for a long moment. "Thanks, Seto," he said finally. "Kisara? Will I really be here a while?"

She nodded. "Yugi, you need to stay here for a bit and get better. It'll be all right, and you won't have a shortage of visitors. People want to come in here, but we need to clear it with you and your granddad first, all right?"

"It's Grandpa I'm worried about," Yugi said. "I help him out in the shop." His face was worried.

"Yugi, we'll all pitch in," Duke said. "Look, I can take time away from Game World and it'll be gratis… That means I don't get paid, Joey!" he grinned, thinking Joey wouldn't know what it meant.

Joey was looking daggers at Duke for explaining. "I know what it means, you… Kisara…uh… it's not cool to use bad language in a children's hospital, is it?" he growled. "I mean…"

Fortunately, Mai cut him off. "Duke, Joey does know things like that. For one thing, Joey's worked at Yugi's grandpa's game shop gratis for some time. He mentioned that at Battle City, which you would know had you been listening, instead of trying to convince Serenity that you were better than Tristan, got it?" she asked sweetly, though her expression said he'd better get it.

"Yes, ma'am," the dark-haired, green-eyed young man said meekly, knowing Mai Deirdre Valentine meant business.

Solomon Muto had been watching Mai for the past two days, and now saw something in her that he hadn't been able to put a finger on before. 'She looks like Sophie,' he realized, remembering the face of the woman he'd married, had his only child with, and had seen for the last time just before the coffin lid had shut. "If I didn't know better, Mai, I would think that you were related to… us…"

Mai looked at the old man. "Are you serious, Mr. Muto? I look like I'm in your family?" She didn't look like she wasn't convinced; in fact, she looked… resigned.

Solomon noticed the expression, as did Yugi. Yugi took a deep breath. "Mai… umm, you don't look surprised," the teen observed, glad deep within himself that it just might be this easy to talk to her.

"Well," Mai began slowly, "while I was… away, I looked at my mother's old journals and… I found a picture." She bit her lower lip, coming to a decision. "I… have held onto this since. It was in the journal and my mother said in her journal that… she drugged him and…f-forced him. I was born nine months later. I didn't want to believe it, but now…" She took her purse, opened it and took out a slightly faded photograph. "Mr. Muto… is… is this guy familiar?" she asked, handing it to the elderly man.

Solomon looked at the photograph, his eyes widening slightly. "It's David… And… Mai, he knew about you, or thought for sure that he did. Your mother was a model, you said?" She nodded. "Well, he saw you on television when you were just a newborn with her…"

"Daddy would've fought for you and Mom would've too," Yugi said. "I had a chance to talk to them when I was on the other side…" And so he told her what he'd learned from his parents. "…So if they could have, they would've raised us together, somehow, Mai…"

Mai took a breath. "Yugi… should we get tested to be sure about this? I mean, it's very possible, and… OH GROSS!" she yelped, remembering that she'd flirted with Yugi.

"The boat to Duelist Kingdom?" Yugi asked, flushing pink like his possible sister was doing, knowing what was going through her mind. "Yeah… well, we didn't know, Mai, and…that was my reaction when I found out. I mean, yeah… Can we know for sure if we're related, though? For sure?"

Kisara nodded. "We can determine if you're related and what DNA you have in common. Solomon, we'll need you to participate because we can determine if you are Mai's grandfather. And that will determine Mai's ancestry. I'll call someone and get this started. There's a lab on-site and we can have the results in a couple of hours. Is that all right?"

Solomon nodded. "It's fine with me, Kisara. I would love it if I had another grandchild, and David always wondered, and so did Abby… Mai, if you are my granddaughter, I know you will be a wonderful addition to our family. You're a wonderful young lady and brave… And I think you look like your grandma Sophie," he smiled.

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

Within an hour, DNA samples were taken from Yugi, Mai and Solomon to determine if she was indeed part Muto. And after that, Kisara headed outside to take pictures of people who wanted to visit the King of Games with clearance from him and the people around him. She came back, having taken a lot of pictures with her digital camera and then printed the pictures out. "Okay, Yugi, you can identify and clear anyone you like, okay?" she said, giving him a binder.

Yugi nodded. "Okay…" He opened the binder and looked at the pictures inside. "I don't know her… Don't know him… Oh! I know these guys…but…" He trailed off, looking at his possible sister. "Mai… I need to be sure you're okay with this… They can't come in unless you're okay with it."

Mai moved over to her possible little brother. "Yugi, who is..?" And then her breath caught in her throat. Three faces from her very recent past, and one of whom harbored feelings for her. She took a few breaths, going pale. "Alister, Rafael and… Valon… They were the ones I worked with when I was really messed up after Battle City, Kisara. Valon… had feelings for me, but I didn't have the same feelings for him. He was a friend, but he wasn't the one who stole my heart. That happened three years ago at Duelist Kingdom," she said gently, meeting her boyfriend's eyes. "Each of those guys had reasons for working for Paradius… It's kind of like…"

"The Illuminati?" Kisara asked curiously, having read about conspiracy theories and shadowy cabals on the Internet, and having also watched _Gargoyles._ She loved reading about conspiracy theories and things like that and then having a good laugh at some of the really outlandish conspiracies. But this, she actually believed. "So they worked for Paradius? Why?"

"Alister thought Seto's adoptive father was the one who killed his little brother. He said his brother wasn't dead, but I think he blocked it out. Rafael was separated from his family and lived on an island by himself for a while. When he got back, he didn't go back to the people who loved him. He saw the whole world and how angry it could be and Dartz found him an easy target. And Valon… well, he was in jail because… well, he did the right thing. He told me about it. He was from Australia and… he didn't have anybody. He was raised in an orphanage and a nun watched out for him. But that all changed when he was nine," Mai explained, shivering a bit.

"Some goons came to the parish and tried to bully him, the nun and the children out, but they wouldn't go. That night, there was a fire at the church and the nun died… Apparently, Valon went after them. He didn't kill them but he was arrested for assault. But… those guys disappeared after they were arrested. I think Dartz engineered the whole thing, so Valon would work for him. And then Dartz sent Valon after me. And I was such a mess… but he did keep me from…" She choked. "Yugi, I…I know what it's like to want to end it… It just hurts too much. Death seems like a good option sometimes…"

And then she found herself being hugged by the young man she loved, her possible family and the people that were like family. "Mai, if we'd known, we would've been there," Teá said softly. "All of us. You're our friend, and we don't leave a friend in the lurch. It'll be okay. And we're all here. And we know Rafael's a nice guy."

Mai nodded, and then Yugi did. "Okay. Bring them in. Big sister… it'll be okay," he said to the golden blonde young woman. It was the first time he'd called her big sister, and it felt right. She sat down on the bed with him and nodded, taking his hand.

And so Kisara headed outside. She went to the three young men, one big and blonde with blue eyes, another slight with dark red hair in a page boy and gray eyes and the last with spiky auburn hair and blue eyes. "So, will he let us come in, Doctor?" the large blonde man asked.

"He will," she said. "Which one of you is Valon, again?"

The auburn-headed young man raised his hand. "I am," he answered in a definite Australian accent. "Why do you ask?"

Kisara took a breath. "Valon, Mai Valentine is here and she will have a conversation with you. But if you try to pressure her in any way or berate her choices, I will not hesitate to remove you from the room, is that clear?" she asked sternly, her own blue eyes snapping.

Valon saw the seriousness in her face and nodded. "I wouldn't hurt her, Doc. I promise I'll be respectful to everyone in that room. Joey Wheeler's there too, right?" When she nodded confirmation, he asked, "How's he doing?"

"Better," she answered. "Just take it easy with him, okay?" He nodded.

Alister, the dark red-haired young man, then asked, "Is Seto Kaiba there?"

"Yes," she answered, "and so is his brother. Mai mentioned you were angry with Seto…"

"Not anymore. I shouldn't have held it against him or his little brother. It wasn't their fault," the young man said, his eyes becoming sad. Kisara made a mental note of it.

"I'll be glad to speak to Yugi," the large man, Rafael, said in his gravelly voice. "I was a jerk to him. And to the Pharaoh…"

"It'll be all right," the doctor soothed as they walked to the hospital doors. "Just be nice and it should be okay."

It didn't take long for Kisara and the three young men to reach Yugi and Joey's hospital room. "I'm back," she said as Yugi and Joey sat up in their beds and the gang looked at the visitors in their midst. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Alister Stoyanovich, Valon Kidman and Rafael Marchand," she introduced.

"You guys have last names?!" Tristan blurted out. And then he sweat-dropped, chuckling in embarrassment. "Uh… of course you do. You just didn't mention your last names."

The three men looked at each other, and started cracking up. "I guess we didn't mention it," Rafael chuckled. "It's okay… Tristan, right?" Tristan nodded mutely. "You didn't know… and we could've not had last names…"

"But we do have last names," Alister said, "and we're glad you know we do." And then came awkward silence. No one knew quite what to say now.

And so Joey decided to break the silence. "Guys, it's cool. C'mon and sit down. Make yourselves at… well, this ain't home, but it's cool."

That gesture somehow eased the tension, and the young men found seats in the room. "We heard on the news what happened, Yugi," Rafael began. "And… well, we didn't expect to meet up like this. It… just happened yesterday that we saw each other outside and had a long chat."

"And then… last night," Valon added, sympathy in his face and voice. "We saw it… Joey…"

Joey swallowed, managing to keep control of his emotions, gripping Mai's hand. "Yeah… Dad just wouldn't be talked down. But… you were alone…"

Valon nodded in shock. "How did you..?"

"I told him, Valon," Mai explained slowly. "I told everybody here what I knew about you guys. But you guys don't know everything about me. I'm surprised Dartz didn't tell you guys about me…" And the blonde girl told the three young men she'd spent a couple of months with what she had told her other friends. "… So now, I may have a grandfather and a little brother I never knew I had," she concluded.

Valon's fists had clenched and unclenched during Mai's story and now his blue eyes were flashing dangerously. "Why… oh, Kisara, it's not okay to..?"

"Cuss in a children's hospital?" she asked knowingly. "Well, it's not a good idea. Take a walk out the main doors and you'll see an empty plot of land. We call that the 'swear field.' You're welcome to go and use it, okay?"

Valon nodded, got up, walked out the room door, headed down the hall, out of the hospital and to the swear field. What language followed would be censored by the "freakin' FCC." The gang could hear the muffled cursing and Rebecca's eyes were wide. "Whoa… he's really mad. He's using words I've only heard on cable and from older students on campus!"

"Rebecca Marie Hawkins," her grandfather asked, voice taking on a slightly stern quality, "what have you been watching on cable?"

The nearly 12-year-old blushed. "Uh… The Sopranos?" she answered, sweat-dropping and grinning sheepishly.

"That is firmly on the list of programs you aren't allowed to watch, isn't that correct?" Arthur asked, the sternness in his expression as well. She nodded, now getting shamefaced.

"Sorry, Grandpa," she apologized. "I watched it for a class and then I got hooked."

"Just don't watch it again," the elderly Hawkins said.

"Okay, Grandpa," she promised, blushing a little in her embarrassment.

The cursing ceased and Valon returned, looking a bit upset, but not so angry. "Thanks, Kisara. I needed to blow. Mai… why didn't you tell us that?"

Mai took a deep breath. "It…it took me a long time to really deal with it. In fact, until I met Joey, Yugi, Tristan and Teá, I'd convinced myself I'd be alone all my life. I thought that it was how things would be. And then, Duelist Kingdom happened. Joey was the first guy to see me as more than just an opponent or a blonde with…well…" She looked down at her ample chest and flushed. "You understand, right?" All three of the former members of Paradius nodded, flushing as well. "So, yeah… but even then, I guess I was still afraid…"

"I didn't help that," Marik groaned softly. He knew on some level that his dark side had really been responsible, but it didn't stop him from blaming himself. _My dark side came from me after all,_ he thought.

"It wasn't your fault, really, Marik. And you didn't know… Nobody did. But if you need to hear the words, 'I forgive you,' then I forgive you," Mai stated calmly.

"Thanks, Mai," Marik said gratefully.

"No problem," she answered. "Valon… I owe you an…"

"No… I owe you the apology, Mai. I tried pressurin' you and that wasn't right. That night, I should've asked if there was somebody I could help you call," the Australian young man said, feeling contrite. "Instead, I practically dragged you to eternal damnation…"

"Valon, don't be. You were and are a friend. And…that night, I wouldn't have survived. I was so messed up, I genuinely thought there was no way out other than that. I'm glad you saved me from that. I'm sorry if I led you on…"

"You didn't… I tried to see something that wasn't really there. You needed a friend, not a guy who was trying to make you fall for him. Friends?" he asked with a slight smile.

"Friends," Mai agreed, getting up and hugging him like a sister. Valon relaxed into it, smiling peacefully. "And keep the card," she whispered, referring to the Cyber Harpy she'd left him at the beach house.

He nodded. "I'll take good care of it," he said and released. "So you guys are testing if you're Yugi's big sister?"

"Yeah. I may not have come into the world because of loving parents, but I know I would've had them if David and Abby Muto had been able to sue for custody. And Yugi and I would've been raised together," she said, moving back to Joey and sitting down with him. "I would've liked that… and I would've had a grandpa that cared about me too."

Valon nodded, smiling a bit. "I didn't have a real mum, but I had Sister Zita Lioba taking care of me. She was the closest thing I had to a mum… When… it happened," he said, eyes growing sad, "I felt so alone… and I really wanted to kill those guys. But I didn't. I wasn't quite ten when it happened, but I was old enough that they chose to charge me as a juvenile in the Australian court system. So I was charged with assault, and whoever those guys were got off… Sister Zita deserved better than…"

He closed his eyes, trying to block the painful memories of when the firefighters had brought out the nun's body under a sheet. He'd been able to see her, looking as if she'd been sleeping when she was in the casket two days later. And now, 9 years later, he couldn't keep the tears from coming, like he hadn't been able to at nine years of age. As the tears came, Valon was startled to feel a pair of unfamiliar but comforting feminine arms around him. He opened his eyes to see a small woman with red hair and gentle brown eyes hugging him.

"She did, sweetie. Let it out," Elizabeth Wheeler said softly. Sure, this boy had tried to kill her son, but if Joey was going to forgive him, she should as well. 'Besides, there, but for the grace of God went my son,' she thought. "It's okay to hurt, honey…"

Valon forced himself to meet her eyes. "Mrs. Wheeler… how can you be so forgiving after what I nearly did and what I did?"

"You're a lot like my boy," she answered kindly, still holding on. "And boys like you and Joey need people around you to help you. Joey had people around him, even though his father was… well… what he was. Joey stayed a sweet boy, but he did get in trouble. He told me he did things he wasn't proud of and he barely dodged being in Juvey. He was fortunate he didn't get caught. His friends helped him through it. You and your two friends, it sounds like, didn't have that help. And Valon, I'm here to help if you want me to."

Valon, Alister and Rafael looked at each other and then the small woman. Valon couldn't bring himself to speak, as he was moved by her words and actions. Alister was dumb with shock and so Rafael took a deep breath. "Thank you, ma'am. None of us really deserve that sort of mercy…"

"Rafael, the Pharaoh told me you were a good guy, and that Dartz fooled you," Yugi responded. "So don't say you don't deserve it. Please? I'd like to think of you as a friend. We both knew you were a decent guy out in Death Valley."

"Even though I..?" Rafael began, but Yugi met his eyes calmly.

"You didn't really know what you were doing… Dartz messed your mind up…"

Rafael sighed softly. "Yeah… I didn't go looking for my family, and I think Dartz made me think I was forgotten. But… I wasn't. I talked to my mom, dad, brother and sister a couple of days ago. We're going to see each other here in the city in a couple of days. Sonya and Julian both have been finishing up class and we'll be able to meet up. I might be able to go home again. I haven't seen them in so long…"

"I'm glad," Yugi grinned. And so the group began to really talk. Some of them talked about nothing in particular, while others got to know the new visitors.

As the conversation went on, Mokuba sidled up to Alister. "Alister?"

"Yeah, kid?" Alister asked. The dark redheaded young man looked at the raven-haired pre-teen boy and couldn't help but wonder what Mikey would've been like had he not been killed by a mortar shell.

"Could you tell me about Mikey?" the boy asked, expression curious and sad at the very same time. "I know it hurt when… you guys got separated."

Alister took a deep breath, and Seto caught the expression. "You didn't find him, did you?" the teen CEO asked softly, remembering how pained the other young man had been at the Duelist Kingdom. And, in an odd way, Seto remembered the pained young man he'd been at Duelist Kingdom, attempting suicide by Yugi when he thought that he'd lost the chance to save his brother. 'Mokuba is my entire life… and without him, I don't think I could've gone on,' he admitted to himself.

Alister saw the expression that he knew was mirrored on his own face. "Seto…I couldn't find him because I already knew…" He pulled the broken action figure, Dyna Dude, from his pocket. "Mikey died that day… I didn't want to believe my brother was gone. I blocked it out; he was such a happy little boy, and wanted to remember him like he was. Earlier that day, he talked about how Dyna Dude would save us… And I told him I'd always protect him. And then, the tanks came. The shooting started and I grabbed Mikey, trying to get him away. But then a mortar from one of the tanks hit really close to us. There wasn't a scratch on me… but… Mikey was…" He swallowed hard. "There… wasn't anything but the action figure and… not much else. It was easy for me to believe that maybe he was just captured and I could get him back. But part of me knew otherwise, so I dedicated my life to hunting you down when I thought Gozaburo was there that day…"

Seto took a breath. "He might as well have been. I knew he built weapons, but I didn't know who he sold them to until I took over Kaiba Corp. When I did, I found out he'd not only sold to the US government, but he'd also sold to every single fighting faction. I could've walked away from it when I found out and said, 'This was my adoptive father's crime, not mine, and I don't have to pay for it.' I could've said, 'Screw the rules, I have money.' But I had to live with myself first. I knew what Kaiba Corp did and that the people hurt or killed had lives and families that they were cheated out of. I had to find a way to make things better if I couldn't make them right. That's why I converted the company to games and toys, and made benevolent associations to help people. I didn't want to bring more death into the world. I just wish I could undo what he did to people…"

Alister stopped him with an upheld hand. "You can't, Seto, anymore than I could. All I did was cause you and Mokuba pain. And I almost killed you both… Forgive me…"

Mokuba put his arms around the redhead. "Alister… it's okay. Just tell us about him… what he was like. I'm not mad at you, and neither is Seto. Not anymore he isn't. And I felt rotten about what happened to you. I know how lost we'd be without each other." He took the locket he wore around his neck and opened it, showing the picture of a young Seto playing chess and smiling. "We made these lockets so we'd always remember that even if we were apart, we were still brothers and loved each other."

Alister smiled at the image of the young boy in the photo. 'Was I ever that happy?' he thought curiously. And then, he remembered. He remembered playing with Mikey in the yard at their small house with their mother watching. He remembered Mikey laughing at some dumb thing he did in the refugee camp that kept the small boy laughing through the day and how it made him, Alister, laugh too. "That's why I have Dyna Dude… to remember him and that he's with me," the young man answered, hugging the smaller Kaiba brother close. "Thanks for helping me remember that, Mokuba. Now, where do I begin?"

And so he told how his father, a diplomat, had brought him and his mother to Yugoslavia when he, Alister, was very small. And then, when fighting broke out, his father was killed and Alister and his by-then-pregnant mother had been trapped behind enemy lines. He told of the day his brother was born and how happy his mom had been. He then told of the little boy who, until the day he died, had brought sunshine into his family. "That's how I choose to remember him; I want to remember how happy he was. There were times I didn't, and those were the times I know Dartz used and also the times I couldn't face living. There were days I thought about joining Mikey…"

"You too?" Valon and Rafael asked at the same time. And then they looked at each other in shock. There had been times for each of the three young men that they'd thought about taking their own lives, even when they'd been part of Paradius.

"I thought about it on the island. Even with my guardians to protect me, I felt so lonely, I couldn't stand it," Rafael admitted. "And later, when I came back to civilization and saw the pain around me, I thought about it as a way to escape. And then Dartz found me."

Valon nodded in understanding. "I had the same feelin', guys… I saw some awful things in Juvey and what happened to Sister Zita. I almost went mad with nightmares and I hated so much of what I saw. I fought in Juvey just to survive and keep from gettin' hurt. But there were days I just thought, 'Why bother?' And then… I remembered what Sister Zita told me, that God gave me my life and it was precious, even if other people thought it wasn't. In God's eyes, I was worth something. And I knew I was worth something to her too. So I didn't."

Yugi nodded, shame in his features. "I just couldn't stop…"

"Yugi… don't do that to yourself," Rafael said. "It doesn't make you weak that you didn't resist. You were in pain and you wanted to end that pain. And now you know you have people around you that love you and will not leave you. It's going to be all right, Yugi, even if it takes a while. Let them be there for you. I know what it's like to not have the people you love around you. Don't turn from that joy of having them around you. Let them help heal you. And be open to them helping."

The young man with the spiky hair looked around at all the people in the room. He'd made a lot of friends in the past four years of his life. 'I've got a lot of people around me, like Rafael said. I've just got to let them help me… And I just might have a sister to love and help and to help me too,' he thought. "Thanks, Rafael," he said finally. "Kisara, can they stay here too, if they want to?" Kisara grinned, and the room population increased by three…

_So the DOOM/Paradius boys came to visit Yugi and are helping him through his pain and working through their own pain too. It seems that Yugi is beginning to realize just how his life has touched others and how others can help him. He also has a sister to love and who loves him too. He's not done with visitors, though. And with the media about, he'll have to deal with them too. So next time, please tune in for "Visitors and Vultures!" Until next time, please read and review! Thank you very much! _


	14. Visitors and Vultures

Chapter XIV: Visitors and Vultures

_Hello again, dear readers and fans of Yu-Gi-Oh! I am horribly sorry for keeping all of you waiting, but alas, my hard drive died an untimely death. This meant that I had to work with my collaborator on other tales, 15animefreak15, to reconstruct what we lost together. All that said, everything will continue; I can only hope and pray we'll get everything going at a quick pace. So, onto the latest chapter of Whisper!_

_Last time, Yugi got a set of visitors that forced his possible sister to face her demons. The three young men who once worked for a shadowy organization also revealed that they had dark moments, too. The DOOM boys were able to stay with the group and offer moral support. So what will happen now? Read on!_

_**Disclaimer: **__Clearly, if I owned the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, things would be different. That said, I don't own it. I just play in the universe and flesh out the characters in different ways. Thank you!_

_Author's note: I have combined aspects of the sub-verse, dub-verse and manga-verse in this chapter regarding Arkana. Also, this chapter introduces Rex Raptor's past and has him break with Weevil Underwood. I've read Rex as a kid who's been guided down the wrong path as sometimes happens when a friend tries to make you do something you know is wrong. I'd like to give special thanks and late birthday wishes to my friend and co-author on other projects, 15animefreak15, who suggested some things about Rex's past, seeing the boy as trying to please a person he called friend. I hope you don't mind this change, everyone. Thank you!_

The test results for Mai, Yugi and Solomon were not ready in the evening, but the lab promised that the results would be ready in the morning. And so the group, now a bit bigger, readied itself for another night in the hospital. "Would you three like some more comfortable clothes to sleep in?" Seto asked Valon, Alister and Rafael.

The three young men looked at each other, still a bit surprised at the generosity the gang was showing them. And then Rafael spoke for himself and his two friends. "Of course. Thank you, Seto." Seto nodded and sent Roland out to the local mall to get some comfortable clothing in their sizes.

When the security man left, Max Pegasus leaned forward a little in his chair. "So have you boys been wandering around ever since Dartz was defeated?"

All three young men nodded. Valon sighed. "I thought I'd just take some time to see the world, and I have. I stayed at the beach house for a while and then decided to go on vacation. One advantage of workin' for Paradius is that you get paid well, and I didn't go through everything. I probably never will," he explained. "So I've been travelin' and I came back here and heard what happened to you, Yugi. I'm not sure what brought me here, but Sister Zita told me that sometimes God sends us places we need to be. I guess this was one of those times."

Kisara nodded in understanding. "Sister Zita was very wise. I think you all needed to know you weren't alone in what you've felt and you found a way to make amends for what happened. And I think you did need to be here. When Roland gets back, you boys can get in something comfortable." And Roland returned very quickly with pairs of very nice sweats. "Thanks, Roland," the young doctor smiled.

"No problem, Kisara," he answered politely. The former members of Paradius got comfortable in their new clothing and sat down.

"So, who else are you going to see, Yugi?" Seto asked curiously.

Yugi looked through the notebook the white-blonde doctor had provided him. "There's so many people… The Roba family… hey, Arkana?!" he yelped, pointing at the picture of a man in a small blue mask covering his face from just below the eyes to the top of the forehead. He was dressed in a simple blue t-shirt and jeans instead of the flamboyant costume Yugi had last seen the illusionist in. And with him was a very pretty petite blonde woman. "That has to be his fiancée! He thought he lost her forever!"

Marik looked entranced by the photograph of his former henchman with a very pretty woman. "He loved her so much, and I almost kept them apart forever. But he was in the psychiatric ward after what happened. And they're planning to get married soon. But they can tell you all of their plans when you see them…"

"I won't keep them waiting!" Yugi grinned. "Kisara? Can they come in?"

"Of course," she answered, as it was only 7 in the evening. And Arkana and his fiancée came to see the King of Games.

Catherine was not only lovely in face and form; she was also a lovely human being. She took time to get to know about all the gang and the young man whom had saved her love. "The truth is I wasn't sure I'd ever seen Arkana again, but when I saw the names of people who participated in Battle City and saw he was in the psych ward, I had to see if he was okay. And when we saw each other again, he begged my forgiveness for pushing me away."

"And I asked if we could start over," Arkana explained, a kind, soft smile on his face. "But she said, 'We can pick up where we left off, and I'll stand by you…' The doctors were pleased at my progress after that. I have to keep the mask on, due to the injuries but with more reconstructive surgeries, I may be able to take it off. And Yugi… I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. Even if you had freed my soul from the Shadow Realm…"

"Yeah," the King of Games answered, shivering, "you would've been dead because the dark energy disks would've… well… sliced you in half…"

"I sort of left out that little detail," Marik groaned. "But it didn't seem important at the time…"

"Well, you did make up for it," Yugi smiled.

"I'm glad you saved him, Yugi. You're such a nice boy," Catherine smiled sweetly, reaching out and ruffling his hair. "So how long are you going to be here?"

"At least a couple of weeks, Catherine. Kisara and Scout… Dr. Hammond and Dr. Rhodes, I mean… don't want me leaving until my hands are okay and the rest of me is okay. I…"

"You aren't alone, Yugi… I thought about it a couple of times in my life," Arkana admitted. "My mother died when I was a teenager and I felt very alone. I thought about it then, but briefly. And then when I pushed Catherine away as I did, I hated myself and wanted to end it. But then Marik found me and I didn't follow through. When I woke up in the psych ward after our duel, Yugi, the doctors and nurses had to stop me from trying again. They put me into counseling and then, one day, Catherine came. I was glad I hadn't succeeded in my attempts," he finished, squeezing his bride-to-be's hand. "Now, my world is better."

Arkana and Catherine stayed for a little bit longer and then left. They were to be the last visitors of the day, but unfortunately, some uninvited guests had other plans. At 9 PM, two men and two women in denim shorts and t-shirts walked into the hospital through a side door. "We'll get paid well for these shots… It'll be a worldwide exclusive!" one of the men, a young guy with hair dyed green grinned.

"Yeah, the King of Games' Final Days! Or The King of Games' Fragile State! We can edit the image to make it look like he's dying!" a young woman with red hair, freckles and green eyes added eagerly. "We'll sell 5 million copies!"

The other two in the group, a small Asian woman and a blonde man with green eyes held cameras. They were ready to sneak in and start snapping shots that would earn them a lot of money. However on this night, they'd have to find other celebrities to photograph. As they came down the hall, Kisara came out of the huge hospital room. "Excuse me," she asked, "do you have clearance to be here?"

"Are you Dr. Hammond?" the young redheaded woman asked clearly.

"Who's asking?" Kisara asked, eyes narrowing. "And why are you here?"

"We're here to see Yugi Muto, and talk to him… So if you'll let us through," the green-haired man tried, moving to go past the doctor. At the same time, the small Asian woman moved to get to Yugi's room. That, perhaps, was an error.

"Security!" Kisara launched herself at the photographer who made a dash for Yugi's room. She was well-versed in self-defense techniques as well as certain martial arts and now used said abilities to deliver a defensive kick to the Asian woman's solar plexus. "Now, are you going to leave quietly?" she asked as the hospital security personnel showed up to grab the paparazzi.

The paparazzi, realizing they were badly outmatched, left without a fight. "Dr. Hammond, are you all right?" Dr. Bailey asked, running up to the teen. "And aren't you supposed to be off-duty?"

"Yes, ma'am, I am off-duty… I just don't want to leave my patients or my new friends," the girl admitted. "Please don't make me leave the premises."

"Kisara, you're worn out," the surgeon stated. "Dr. Rhodes has gone home to be with her family and you are going to take a rest. Now, you can go sleep in the crash room, in the family relief area, or you can head home. But you are getting a good long rest, understood?"

"I'll make sure she gets the rest she needs, Doctor Bailey," Seto Kaiba stated, stepping out from the hospital room, looking serious. "You said something about a family relief area?"

Bailey nodded. "It's down the hall. Follow the signs and make sure she gets to sleep, Mr. Kaiba. She's been awake for too long…"

Seto nodded and took the young doctor by the shoulders, leading her. He followed the signs and soon found himself and Kisara in a large room with couches to sit on. "Is this the place?"

She nodded. "Yeah. There are individual rooms where people can sleep if they're here for long periods of time if they don't want to stay in rooms. I usually can't be here, but you heard Dr. Bailey…"

"I know… and you do look tired, Kisara. You're getting dark around the eyes," he observed, helping her to an unoccupied sleep area. This room had a single full-size bed. "Do you have a nightgown, Kisara..?" And then he couldn't speak for a moment because she had already begun stripping down, revealing herself. It wasn't out of any desire to arouse him, but simply habit of being in the coed physicians' locker room. She had a hospital-provided nightgown out and just wanted to get it on quickly. Seto looked away but his face pinked nicely. He had gotten a nice look at her before he looked away, only because he was stunned and now embarrassed that he'd looked as long as he had.

Kisara had gotten undressed and in her gown before she noticed the young man in the room with pink cheeks. "Oh my gosh! I… Oh, I'm sorry!" she apologized, blue eyes wide with horror. "I didn't mean to… I mean… I'm in coed locker rooms!" she stammered.

Seto realized and smiled slightly, the equivalent of a sheepish grin to anyone else. "It's all right. Don't worry about it. You obviously weren't paying attention. Uh…" He wasn't sure how to say what he was honestly thinking about what he'd seen, but his emotions came through to her. He liked what he saw, but he also liked the young woman he was getting to know. "Why don't you get in bed and rest a while?" he asked, opening the twin bed for her.

She lay down sleepily and he gently tucked her in. "Thanks, Seto," she murmured. "You're so sweet…"

"Sweet dreams, Kisara," he answered as she drifted off. "Just sleep now… things'll be okay… And I'll up security around the hospital." He tiptoed out of the room, dialing his mobile phone as he walked back to Yugi and Joey's room.

"Is she sleeping, Seto?" Mokuba asked when his brother returned.

"Yeah, kid. She's just worn out," the elder Kaiba brother explained to the younger. "Now I see why you've gotten so ticked off at me when I work late."

Yugi grinned softly. "He tells you that you work too hard, Seto?"

The teen multibillionaire shrugged, tousling his brother's raven locks. "Yeah. Who else would tell me?"

The group talked for quite a while about nothing in particular and then Scout Rhodes came in to check on the patients. "Hmmm… Joey, you can get out of here tomorrow… We'll need to be sure where you're staying, but you're okay to get out of here," she smiled as she looked at the blonde young man's chart. And then she moved over to Yugi. "Hmmm… flex your fingers for me, Yugi, okay?"

Yugi tried and winced a little. "It hurts a bit, Dr. Rhodes…"

The dark-haired plump doctor gently inspected the young man's wrists, checking carefully for signs of infection or any other potential complications. "Hmmm… there's going to be some tenderness, Yugi, but it'll be okay. But can you feel my touch better today?"

"Yeah… that's a good thing, isn't it?"

"Yes it is… that means your nerves are going to be okay, Yugi. You'll be able to duel fine again when you want to…" Everyone was happy about that, and soon it was time for bed.

"Liz," Seto whispered after Joey and Serenity had fallen asleep with most of the group, "did you say you wanted to have Joey live with you?"

"Yes, I did, Seto," she answered. "I've probably lost my job anyway. I've been gone too much from it this year with Serenity's surgery and everything… And I can't ask Joey to uproot from this city… And I can't leave him like this, either. He's eighteen, but he needs me…"

"Then… let me make it possible for you three to stay together," he offered. "I won't give you a handout, but I can give you a decent job with good benefits for you, Joey and Serenity. You'll have a nice place to live and the money to keep it up. You'll also have good retirement benefits, and Joey and Serenity will want for nothing. If anything… I'm also making up for how I treated Joey the past few years. He's a good guy and I treated him like dirt. I know he says it's okay now, but… I still need to make up for it."

Liz smiled in the low light of the room. "Seto… Joey told me a lot about you when Serenity was in surgery. And he was angry with you, but he did tell me he understood some things about you. Like why you were so angry and maybe why you took it out on him. He got angry with you because you shoved everyone away and they would've been glad to help you and Mokuba."

Seto considered that. 'All this time,' he thought, 'I did push all of them away. But they would've helped us… And they have… Even when I didn't deserve that compassion…' Out loud, he whispered, "We had a lot more in common than I realized. And… I think part of me was jealous. Joey had family and friends around him that he could trust without reservation. Knowing what I know now, I feel even worse that I treated him so badly."

"Sweetie," the older woman murmured, being the mother of this young man's friend instead of a subordinate, "he's forgiven you. And he's not angry with you anymore. He'll appreciate you doing this, but it's not necessary to make up to him with that." She moved over and put a motherly arm around the teen CEO. "You're friends now, and that's what matters."

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

The next morning, Kisara, well rested, came back into Yugi and Joey's room with a simple manila envelope. "Morning, everybody," she said cheerfully. "Solomon, Yugi, Mai, the results are ready. Do you want them read privately?"

The three violet-eyed individuals looked at each other and then shook their heads. "Everyone in this room is our family," Solomon stated gently. "So please, read the results, Kisara."

The young woman nodded and opened the envelope. She scanned the papers inside carefully and then took a deep breath. "According to this, it is 99.9 ad infinitum- likely that Solomon Muto is the paternal grandfather of Yugi Muto and Mai Valentine. Mai, Yugi, you are, according to these tests, related, and the evidence points to you being brother and sister."

Mai looked very stunned for a moment. While she had been expecting that the test would confirm her parentage, it was still a shock. But then she smiled. "I… actually have a grandpa and a little brother… I don't know what to say…"

Yugi threw his arms around her. "Welcome to the family, big sister. And again… sorry," he smiled and then groaned.

"Hey, we didn't do anything," the 21-year-old reminded her brother, tousling his spiky hair. "Um… Grandpa? You're okay with me dating Joey, right?"

Solomon looked happily at his granddaughter. "Of course I am, honey… You chose a good young man in Joey. And I know he won't disappoint you…"

Valon, sitting in one chair, was smiling too. "You got what you needed, Mai… You've got a real family now…"

Joey got up from his bed and strode over to the blue-eyed spiky-haired young man who'd been his rival for Mai's affections. "Well," he said, clapping a hand on Valon's shoulder, "you guys do too. Look, Raf's a decent guy, Alister was messed up and you were too. Somethin' tells me that if we'd met without the fighting, we might've been friends at the start. You and me are actually a lot alike…"

Valon nodded, smiling, remembering what Elizabeth had mentioned yesterday. "Yeah, I guess we are. So are you sayin'..?"

"You're part of the gang," Joey said with a smile. "And that means you're part of the family…"

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

The day wore on and Joey was discharged from the hospital as a patient. And Seto told the Wheelers that they were welcome to stay at the Kaiba mansion until such time as they were able to move into a decent house. And Yugi continued to receive visitors. He met the Roba brothers, and was pleased to hear that the family of boys was doing very well together. Mako Tsunami also was on the visitors' list, and was pleased to inform the group that in addition to fishing, he was also dating the pretty orca whale trainer he'd met at Ocean World.

But perhaps the most surprising visitor of the day was a young man with brown hair and lavender bangs, wearing a bright red beanie cap. "Hi, everybody," Rex Raptor greeted, seeming a bit unsure of himself. "Hi, Yugi…"

"Hey, Rex," Yugi greeted.

"C'mon and take a load off," Joey offered, pulling a chair for the small duelist.

Rex stood about as tall as Yugi and had been a champion in the game of Duel Monsters. He had lost a title or two and found himself rather alone in the world, except for another duelist named Weevil Underwood. The two boys had been inseparable, so to see one without the other now caused several raised eyebrows. "I guess you're all wondering why Weevil isn't here," he stated after the greetings were done. "We've parted ways…"

"But aren't you guys friends?" Téa asked, blue eyes wide with astonishment. "I mean… we've seen you guys together since before Duelist Kingdom."

"Well, that's changed," Rex admitted. "He was out there and wanted to get in here… He wanted to get at your deck, Yugi… And that's when I really had enough…"

Yugi, already sitting up, leaned slightly forward in surprise. "Rex? I don't understand… Why did you guys stop being friends?"

Rex sighed. "You really want to know?" he asked.

Joey, the last person in the group to duel the dinosaur duelist, nodded. "Yeah… Rex, listen, you seem like a decent guy. You've always played fair in your duels with me… We'd all like to know what went on…"

The dinosaur duelist sighed again. "Okay… it's a long story, but maybe it's time I told it. It doesn't start with Weevil; it really starts with my family…" And so Rex began his tale…

"Some of you are probably wondering what's made me the way I was and why I ended up following Weevil to the gates of Hell. There's no excuse for what I did, and I understand now why so many of my fans ditched me. I knew that stealing was wrong, and yet I went along with it. I knew hurting people was wrong, and yet I went along with that. Weevil said we could get power if we became top duelists again, and then with that Orichalcos card, and again with the Egyptian god cards. I went along with it, even though I knew it was wrong.

"I know this probably sounds clichéd, but I guess it starts off with how things were when I was a little kid. I got teased a lot and never had friends. And I wasn't the sort of son my dad wanted. I was… well, look at me! I'm not athletic, I'm just average in school, and I wasn't popular with anybody. I started playing Duel Monsters when I was 10 and then I got into tournaments. Suddenly, people started to know my name. I was a somebody. But even with that, I wasn't good enough for my dad. I still was too puny.

"'You're such a little runt and a weirdo,' he'd say. 'How do you expect to amount to anything playing a stupid card game?!' And I strived to prove him wrong. I know you're wondering where my mom was in all of this, but she's a corporate lawyer and her firm always has cases going on. Dad, though, works for the city as a garbage man. He makes good money, but Mom makes a lot more than him. I think he resents that Mom has the better job and maybe that's why he wanted me to be… better, I guess. But I kept dueling and getting fans…

"But even with my fans, I still had no friends. I was still lonely and laughed at. I was the Dino Dork. But that changed the day I met Weevil Underwood. We both were kids who'd never really had friends and after a really tough duel, we decided to talk. His parents are entomologists… They study bugs. I guess they didn't have a lot of time for him either, but they always made sure he was happy and gave him whatever he wanted. And they always told him he was a great kid, and if he got in trouble, they always fought the teacher until she gave in. So when I met him, I guess he hadn't heard the word no much…

"We got to be friends and I hung out with him a lot. We won duels together, played together and did a lot of stuff together. But there were times when we'd do stuff and I didn't want to do it. One of the dumbest things we ever did was get in that stupid bag and get on that chartered plane…"

Yugi, Téa, Tristan and Joey exchanged glances. "Wait a sec… were you guys in that big bag that none of us had?!" Joey yelped in shock. The three senior members of the former Paradius group also exchanged shocked glances but remained silent.

"Yeah," the dinosaur duelist groaned. "We thought it would be a couple of hours because you guys were only flying to San Francisco."

"Pegasus was worried, I guess, that something would happen to us, so he had the plane fly all the way up to Anchorage and land. We had an eight-hour layover and weren't allowed off the plane, and then we took off again at midnight Anchorage time, so we got to San Francisco about 6:30 the next morning," Yugi explained. "And then you guys found Duke, right?"

"Yeah and he saved our undeserving butts when a guy stole our wallets and his buddies were going to beat us up. Weevil asked me the same question my dad did when I was nervous about doing something… 'You're not a wimpy baby, are you?' And like I always did, I said, 'no way!' And then I went along with what Weevil wanted… All the way to the Kaiba Corp Grand Championship and then to trying to steal the god cards from you, Yugi. We grabbed the wrong bag, I guess and Bakura, you found us, I guess. It's kind of fuzzy, what happened after that," Rex said, clearly puzzled. "But after that, we kept hanging around and we met up outside the hospital the other day. He said, 'let's go into the hospital and try and Yugi's deck while he can't do anything.' And I guess that was my breaking point. I said no, and he got mad and called me a few names…

"But," Rex sighed, matter-of-factly, "this time, I told him I wasn't going to do anything. It's not right to kick a guy when he's down. So that's why I've done what I've done… And I've been a jerk and a disgrace to dueling… not because I lost, but because I did wrong when I knew full well it was wrong. Yugi, Joey… I learned from both of you and… I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I did."

"Well, Rex-boy, sometimes the hardest thing is admitting that you did a bad thing, and you've done that," Max Pegasus stated kindly.

"And you don't expect us to forgive you, do you?" Tristan asked. When Rex confirmed that, the hazel-eyed boy grinned. "Well, we are forgiving you… and we'll be your friends, if that's all right."

And then Mai took a deep breath. "Rex… I owe you an apology for Duelist Kingdom. I was wrong on the boat and I was really wrong to use you like I did against Joey. I should've fought him myself. Can you forgive me?" she asked, moving over to him, holding out her hand.

He took it. "Of course…"

And then Seto looked up at the clock. "Hmmm… it's lunchtime… Rex, would you like to join us?" Rex liked it very much.

_Well, so Yugi has a sister, and he has no doubt now he's made a difference in people's lives. And Rex and Arkana are putting their lives back together. So what will happen in our next chapter? Stay tuned, and hopefully the wait won't be as long this time! Thank you for reading, and until then, please read, review and stay tuned!_


	15. The Press Conference

Chapter XV: The Press Conference

_Hello again, fans of the original Yu-Gi-Oh, and welcome back to "Whisper." It's been a long year, hasn't it, folks? Well, this is the next-to-last chapter of this tale and I do hope you enjoy it. Thanks, everyone for reading and thanks to my loyal reviewers! Glad to hear from you and I hope I hear from more of you! Anyway, on with the story!_

_Last time, a group of paparazzi attempted to invade Yugi and Joey's room and Kisara whipped their butts. Yugi had a few more wanted visitors, and found that Mai was indeed his half-sister. So things have changed, and what will happen next?_

_**Disclaimer: Must I say it again? I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! I wish I did.**_

_Author's note: There is a slight time jump here._

Two weeks after Yugi had tried to kill himself and then awakened from his slumber, his best friend and sister walked down a hall of Domino Children's to a conference room. Mai was quiet, and so was Joey, but while the young woman was thinking of nothing in particular, the young man was thinking of what had happened about a week ago. Seto and he had talked over a pet dream of Joey's, and the teen CEO had offered the blonde teen a job as the Executive Officer of Kaiba Corp Airlines.

Joey returned to the present as he and his love arrived at their destination, which was already buzzing with reporters. 'I've got enough… I can take care of her,' he thought. 'It's like bein' separated never happened, and I'm not going to lose her again.' "You okay?" he whispered to her as they headed to a conference room, already half full.

"Yeah," she admitted softly, her cheeks pale. "This isn't going to be easy… I haven't told anybody who I am… I'm just nervous, and there will be people who wonder… but we know the truth…"

He nodded, wanting to kiss her, but she was worried enough without all the cameras clicking directly on her and him if they kissed here. "We do… and I'm not leavin'… I promise," he murmured in her ear as they entered the room and sat down in chairs at a long, heavy oak table. "We're going to get through this, babe… I'm right here…" She nodded, still nervous, but a bit calmer.

A few seconds later, Yugi entered the room, flanked by his grandfather, Teá, Seto, Mokuba and Kisara. The cameras started to flash as the small King of Games, clad in his blue pajamas with navy edging at the lapels, left breast pocket and arm and leg cuffs. He also wore a pair of dark blue scuff slippers on his feet. His arms were no longer bandaged, but today he wore sweatbands on his wrists to camouflage the healing scars. 'It's okay, Yugi, you can do this,' he thought as he went to sit at a chair next to the right side of the podium. Teá sat next to him and then Solomon sat next to her.

Kisara went up to the podium first, clad in her white doctor's coat and blue scrubs beneath the coat. Her long blue-white blonde hair was pulled back into a long ponytail today, and she was wearing some light make-up. "Good afternoon. My name is Kisara Hammond and as most of you already know, I have been helping to restore Yugi Muto to health for the past two weeks along with my colleague, Dr. Jean Louise Rhodes. Dr. Rhodes was unable to make the conference today, so Yugi is doing much better today," she said, "and he has graciously agreed to make his own statement. Yugi?"

The small King of Games stood up from his chair, glancing around at the people who cared about him the most in this world. He was glad that they were all here to help him through this, even if it was through visible slight smiles, or in Seto's case, a smile that was in the eyes only. And so he stood at the podium. "Um… hi," he began as several flashbulbs went off and TV camera lights came on.

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

All over Domino City and all over the world, people were glued to their TVs to see the young King of Games speak. "Mummy, it's Yugi!" little Bastion Misawa stated eagerly. "Is he really better now?"

"He's almost better, angel," Katai Misawa answered gently, holding her little one to her on the couch. "He's going to be in the hospital for a bit longer, but he'll be out soon."

"Maybe someday I can meet him," the small boy observed. "Daddy got me the autograph, after all…"

"And you were so nice to send the thank you note, sweetie," his mother complimented. "I'm sure he appreciated it." And so they watched as Yugi began to speak…

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

As soon as Yugi was used to the cameras, he opened his mouth. "Hi, everyone. First, I wanted to say thank you to everybody who's sent flowers and drawings and all sorts of stuff over the past two weeks. Along with everyone who's come out to see me, you've all made me feel a lot better. Over the past couple of weeks, I've really begun to see how people really care. But… I guess I should've known that before.

"In April, I said goodbye to a good friend, and rather than deal with it, I hid what was going on. I didn't tell the people around me how badly I was hurting, and then I couldn't take it anymore. I'd started writing letters to them and so on that day, I sealed the letters in envelopes and went out with the people I cared about one last time. And then I headed up to my bedroom, laid out the letters and headed into the bathroom. You all know what happened after that. I owe my best friend, Joey, my life. If he hadn't come up to my room, I probably wouldn't be here. He found me in time.

"I also owe my life to the doctors at this hospital, including Dr. Scout Rhodes…"

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

At a two-story white house with a large backyard and front yard a few blocks from the hospital, Scout Rhodes sat in her favorite chair in the family room watching the press conference. "You're welcome, Yugi," she murmured softly, not wanting to disturb her five-year-old daughter, Alexis and her seven-year-old son, Atticus, who slept next to her on the couch after playing hard in the morning with Darla Truesdale's small boys, Syrus and Zane. 'I just hope my kids have as good of friends as you've had,' she thought.

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

"… Dr. Rhodes made it possible for me to keep the use of my hands, in addition to saving my life. And in the past two weeks, I've become friends with Dr. Kisara Hammond, who helped not only me, but my friends and family through the first couple of nights when I wasn't okay and when my friend, Joey, lost his dad. To all the doctors here, I am grateful and I'm glad my attempt was unsuccessful."

Yugi drew a deep breath, knowing that this next part was not going to be easy. However, in some ways, he was glad that this would be known to the public as was his grandfather and sister. "I never would've found out some things if I had succeeded in ending my life. I never would've found out that I'd made such an impact on people beyond being the champion of a card game… and I'd never have known that… I have a sister."

All who were not in the know in the room gave a collective gasp. And then came the flash of the cameras. All over the world, people were stunned as well. No one could've expected that Yugi would make this announcement. It was well known that the young man was an only child. Who could his sister be?

And then Mai stood up along with her and Yugi's grandfather. "My sister is Mai Valentine," Yugi said calmly. "She, my grandfather and I decided that I would make the statement for our family… Mai is my sister and I am glad to have her as my sister. We will not state how that came to be here, but we will, in a few hours release the information of how this all occurred. We all hope you will give us the time that we need as we get through this together. Thank you and I'll take a few questions…"

A tall young man with blue hair and brown eyes raised his hand. "Yugi, the public and many of us would like to know… how long until you're out of the hospital?"

Yugi glanced over at Kisara who nodded. "It's going to be a couple of weeks more. I'm in counseling and everyone wants to be sure my wrists have healed before I'm allowed to go home."

The next person raised her hand, a woman with dark hair and dark eyes. "Yugi… all of Domino is glad that you're recovering. Do you have any plans for the immediate future?"

And so the small King of Games looked back at his greatest rival. Seto smirked back. "Well, now that you mention it…"

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

A few hours later, Seto Kaiba sighed at the table in Yugi's room. "You took all my life points, Yugi."

"Yeah… Good match, though. You came really close, and neither of us had a god card or a Pyramid of Light," the violet-eyed young man stated with a smile. "It was a fair match… and you did well."

Seto sighed again, but this time, he was smiling as he took the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon off the table. His spell card had ultimately done him no good, as Yugi had placed Magic Cylinder in combination with the Magician of Black Chaos. "I didn't beat you, but… It's okay. Yugi, the past couple of months since Egypt… I'm glad you're my friend, and I'm glad you didn't give up on me, even after all those times I treated you so badly. And… I wanted to say I'm sorry for all those times."

Yugi looked up at his rival and friend, face turning serious. "You apologized on the ride home after…" He paused a moment, collecting his emotions. "Well, you did, and that means what happened is in the past. And I knew you were a good person, Seto… And now it's okay… that I stop dueling professionally."

Seto wasn't sure what to say. Finally, he asked, "You're getting out of it? Yugi, you have so much more to… Wait… you've made your money… You've saved the world… You need a rest, right?"

Yugi sighed. "Yeah… I just want to enjoy my life and dueling for fun. And… thanks for this…"

"For what?" Seto asked curiously, catching the not-quite-enigmatic smile on his rival's face.

"For giving me a fun duel where the fate of the world wasn't at stake and I didn't have to lose a friend…"

The tall young man with the blue eyes regarded his small rival for a long moment, both of them oblivious to the media presence a short distance away. "Yugi… it's the least I can do. You deserve that much… And however long it takes, we're all riding this out with you. You're not alone…"

And as the media watched, the two rivals embraced as brothers.

_And so another chapter ends. Yugi has beaten Seto for what may be the last time they duel somewhat seriously. So Yugi is feeling better, even if he's not totally recovered. So what's in store for our violet-eyed duelist? Stay tuned next time for the epilogue. Until then, please read, review and stay tuned! Thank you!_


	16. Epilogue

Chapter XVI: Epilogue

_Oh, my goodness! It's been far too long since I updated this tale. And I know many of you have been wondering when __**Whisper**__ would finally conclude. I never forget about stories; I do, however, need something intangible to finish them. Fortunately, that inspiration has come. It is with great pride and mixed pleasure that I bring you the finale to __**Whisper**__. _

_As usual, I don't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise. I just play in the universe and play around with different ideas. Thanks!_

On August 24, 2006, Yugi Muto smiled to himself as he buttoned his white dress shirt in small room off the sanctuary of a small church. It had been over a month since he left Domino Children's Hospital and with the help of his family and friends, he had been able to come to terms with Atem leaving him. Life moved on, and so could Yugi. As he put on a violet tie and then a dark gray suit jacket, he reflected not for the first time that life was pretty good.

His thoughts were broken into by a shout. "Stupid pants!" the groom exclaimed, fitting himself into a pair of dark suit pants. Evidently, the barbeque rehearsal dinner from last night had made it a little bit difficult to button the pants. "I should get Mai…"

"Joey, if you hadn't eaten the potato salad and three racks of pork ribs, they wouldn't be so tight," Seto Kaiba pointed out with a slight groan. He, Tristan and Duke had been charged with keeping the groom from going to find the bride. She had left strict instructions that her husband-to-be was not to see her before she came down the aisle. "And she wants you to be surprised when you see her dress."

"Yeah, Joey," the bride's brother reminded Joey. "Besides, you got your pants on," he noted.

Joey buttoned the fly of his pants, zipped them up and got his tie on. "Yuge," he began with a smile. But then for some reason, his brown eyes got suspiciously bright. The smaller young man moved close to his best friend and the blonde knelt to hug him. It took a moment for Joey to compose himself, but he managed it quickly. "I'm… glad you're here, man," he said finally, pulling back to look right into his surrogate little brother's eyes. "I couldn't have stood it if you weren't."

Yugi grinned back, trying to make sure his friend didn't get too emotional. "Thanks, Joey… And I'm glad to be here too."

About twenty minutes later, Yugi stood at the front of the sanctuary next to his best friend. Joey had elected to have co-best men instead of a best man and groomsmen. And so Yugi and Tristan stood at Joey's side, waiting for the bride to make her appearance. Teá and Serenity, Mai's co-maids of honor, also stood at their places. In the pews were the Kaiba brothers, their bodyguards and Kisara, Elizabeth Wheeler, Duke, Rebecca and Arthur Hawkins and Valon, Raphael and Alister. It was a small wedding, but it was exactly what Joey and Mai wanted.

Yugi looked up at his best friend, noticing just how pale he'd gotten. "Joey, are you okay?" he whispered urgently.

"Y-yeah… Just th-thinkin', man. This is big…"

"Bigger than when Seto offered you that job?"

"Yeah. I still can't believe he gave it to me… But now… Man… I don't know if I can do this…" Joey was in training with Seto himself for a job in Kaiba Corp's airline division. He wasn't at liberty to discuss his eventual position, but for some reason, he was excited. All he would say was that the job would more than take care of him and Mai.

"Keep it together, Joey," Yugi soothed him. "You can do this, and I know you're going to be a great husband to my sister. Atem believed in you too. And I know he's watching us today."

Joey actually managed a smile at that. "Thanks, man…"

And then the doors at the back of the church opened. Mai walked in on her grandfather's arm. She wore a floor-length strapless empire-waist white crepe dress with a delicate silver design embroidered at her belly. Her hair was loose and she wore a silver tiara on her head. She was smiling and her face was glowing with love. Solomon strode beside her, dressed in a navy blue suit, white dress shirt and dark tie.

Today was a happy day, Yugi reflected again. _I have a sister and she's getting married. I'll have a brother-in-law, and he was like my brother in the first place. I would've missed all this… Atem, if you're watching, I'm going to be okay. _In his mind, he could see Atem in the pews, smiling. _I'll see you again someday, brother._ And then, the wedding began as did the rest of Yugi's life.

**THE END**

_Thank you, everyone, for your patience with this story. It's been nearly 2 years since I started this tale, and I am glad to have finished. I hope you have enjoyed it. If you're considering taking your life, please seek help. As always, I would enjoy a review from you. Thank you again, and see you around._


End file.
